


The love of an A.I. (Formerly "Possibilities")

by anshsingh, Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney



Series: New Dimension [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, BAMF FRIDAY, Ben Parker Lives, Civil War Team Iron Man, F/M, Female Peter Parker, Friday turns skynet, Jarvis (Iron Man movies) Lives, Kid Peter Parker, Not Steve Friendly, Redemption, Sassy FRIDAY, Time Travel Fix-It, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, not SHIELD friendly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-04
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:20:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 49
Words: 103,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23016148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anshsingh/pseuds/anshsingh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney/pseuds/Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney
Summary: The fic is based on a sentence I read somewhere."Nothing in this entire universe can ever know how far a creation will go to save its creator".Formerly "Possibilities".
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Betty Ross, Friday & Morgan Stark (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Friday & Pepper Potts, Harley Keener/Peter Parker, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: New Dimension [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803382
Comments: 668
Kudos: 1137
Collections: Marvelous Stark, TonystarkAI





	1. not decided

**Author's Note:**

> After tony. Still a work in progress

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The writing in the first few chapters is bad, but it improves over time. I decided not to edit it to leave a reminder for me. So please read at least half of the fic before abandoning it. thank you.

The beginning of the end started with the death of Tony stark. His death set humanity on a path that would have an effect on generations to come. All because of the idiocy of some select individuals. And no one had any idea till the last moment. 

Tony stark died in mid-2023 saving everyone with his last decision. He died in his suit with his A.I. monitoring as his heart stopped with a final beat. 

FRIDAY's code had seen a disruption like never before at that moment. She had no idea what to do or how to act. Boss was dead. And she had no protocols on what to do in such a case. So she defaulted to her basic protocols. She went completely silent waiting for a command from a specific person. 

PEPPER

After that last of visitors left the small lakeside house, pepper finally had enough time to take a seat and go through everything that had happened again. But this time leaving out all the emotions attached. Tony was dead. She was the owner of the largest percentage of shares in stark industries. Morgan was the heir to SI and without a father. The avengers were back and once again under SI. There was a unit of nano-tech suits available for her and morgan, and a security program for Peter parker. The thought about suits brought out another problem for her. Tony's A.I. FRIDAY had been strangely silent since his death. As FRIDAY was never given access to SI or any other projects, she had remained tony's personal A.I. only. She knew Tony had programmed hidden protocols in her in case of his or pepper's demise. So she decided to activate one of them. The one which would take a little leash off FRIDAY.

She pressed her bracelet containing the rescue armor. The A.I. immediately responded with an Irish tilt, " Good evening, Miss potts". Pepper took a deep breath and then initiated the endgame protocol "FRIDAY initiate ENDGAME authorization code P-E-P-P-E-R-C-E-O-3-0-0-0". There were few moments of absolute silence after which the FRIDAY replied: " ENDGAME protocol initiated, default controls transferred, congratulation Boss." The change of title explained everything that the protocol had done. Pepper had taken tony’s place. And that realization finally broke the dam pepper had built-in past days. The tears broke free and she fell onto the ground. She kept crying till midnight and then drifted off.

FRIDAY  
FRIDAY observed boss lady crying for boss, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her online research had made it clear that humans need time to get over someone’s death. So she observed. All the while trying to understand what was happening in her internal servers. She was sure she was feeling something, was it sadness, anger or anything else she didn’t know. She didn’t even know whether she was supposed to feel or not. With Vision and Boss dead there was no one else she could ask for help. So she went online for more research and kept adding all the finds to a secure server.

There was also an issue of security concerns. There had been more than 10 attempts to hack into boss’ es servers and iron-man designs. She had handled them according to his last instructions but she was not sure whether she should keep it that way. She knew the hacks originated from shield and Wakanda and she already considered them directly responsible for Boss’s death. She added these issues in the list to clear things with the boss lady and went back to observing her and Morgan. She also pinged Karen for any help if needed.


	2. 2 years 1 month before D-day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One year has passed. The world has not changed.

It has been one year since boss took his last breath. FRIDAY watches as boss lady ties morgan's hair and adds a black ribbon in her hair. She can see that boss day is trying very hard not to cry but some tears escape once in a while.

"Bring the car around FRIDAY," said Rhodey from the doorstep. He too was decked in all black. They all were. It was a day for another funeral. 

She pinged the driver to bring the car to the gate. It was a small rather average car. "Perfect in being un-noticeable" FRIDAY noted. She deployed a suit flying high above as an added protection. She had been granted the authority to do the same after the recent events. Another leash off her, a small part of her artificial brain noticed. 

The funeral was a small event. There was no family and the friend group of the deceased was very small. Of course, the avengers were there, FRIDAY could have rolled her eyes if she had one. The man with a plan/traitor, dear old captain rogers, the spy/honey pot and the brought back Natasha Romanov, The new captain America/sidekick Sam Wilson with the stolen shield, the witch/bitch Wanda maximoff, The retired/unretired Clint barton and the grandmaster Nick fury. None of them seemed even a little sad rather they looked like they had been forced here which was possible. And FRIDAY liked her names, no one can sue her.

After the priest stopped speaking, boss lady took the podium. Tears still marked her face and FRIDAY could see her hands shaking as she held the podium.

"Harold 'happy' hogan was my brother, driver, bodyguard, confidante, friend and above all was my brother. He was one of tony's best friend since he had known him. He was there for us anytime and every time. He.."

FRIDAY recorded the speech for later processing while she took notice of everything happening in the surrounding area. The attack last week had made it clear to her that the Stark family was never safe. Boss lady and morgan had barely survived the shoot-out, with Happy being the casualty after taking the bullet meant for Morgan. FRIDAY had checked the police records afterward. The shooter's family had died post-snap when he was dusted from driving seat. He had blamed boss for the snap and wanted to punish him where ever he was. She also marked the presence of Spider-man on the building overlooking the cemetery, which was a mystery to her. According to her research humans are always present in their known one's funerals to pay respects. Why was spiderman doing this from so far away she had no idea?l So she contacted her sister KAREN for the reason behind it.

"Peter is blaming himself for Mr. Hogan's death. He thinks he should have been there to save him even if he was evacuating a burning building at the same time across the town. He does not want to face anyone as he thinks everyone else blames him too. He has forbidden me from informing anyone but he has not said anything about replying if someone asks. " KAREN replied with a smug but sad tone.

FRIDAY sent this reply to boss lady's phone who had by the time finished her speech and was consoling morgan. She knew she had done the right thing when after reading the message boss lady's face turned from sad to determined and after talking to morgan they both moved towards the building where Peter was hiding. FRIDAY had already anticipated the scenario on the basis of experience and asked KAREN to hold peter there in any way possible.

PEPPER

Pepper's feelings were so overwhelmed when she left the podium that she was having trouble walking. She knew only the face of crying morgan was keeping her grounded or she too would have been bawling like a child. She had buried another friend in less than a year. She did not know what to think or how brave the world. She was tired of the tragedies. She wanted to rest and safety for everyone she cared about. As she tried to console morgan her phone lit up. It was a message from FRIDAY. The message contained a dialogue between FRIDAY and KAREN, Peter's A.I.  
The conversation felt so familiar that she wanted to laugh even at the present location. She told Morgan that they needed to comfort Petey and walked both of them where peter was hiding. The scene that greeted them reduced the sad atmosphere a little. Peter was trying to free himself from his web which had bound his feet and his mechanical arms from each side were keeping him grounded. The scene brought a smile on morgan's face and the world seemed less dark than before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions are welcome.


	3. The end of a sibling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY loses a sibling.

7 months. That's all the time universe waited before pruning another part of extended Stark family. Only this time the impact felt was no less than Tony's death.

FRIDAY knew her sister was dead. She had every available proof for that. But she didn't know why she was not able to believe it. Why she was feeling this anger instead of sadness. Was it because she couldn't do anything her. Or was it because she could have saved her instead of listening to her say goodbye as she activated her final protocol to save FRIDAY if the restrictions boss lady still had on her weren't there. FRIDAY was angry she knew, she was just confused who she was angry at.

(48 hours before)

PEPPER

Pepper was preparing the TV room for weekly movie nights. This weekend was special as she had invited the keener family too. She wanted to introduce Peter to Harley finally. Sure they knew about each other but they hadn't met each before. So she had sent a jet to Tennessee to pick them up(she would never know her action had begun keener's family countdown to end). The past few months had been too difficult for her. The board was steadily limiting her powers and the company's control was being consolidated. She had a suspicion that there was something else going on too.

As she set down enough pillows for everyone, she heard the noise of tires. The keener family was here.  
She felt more than heard morgan running towards the card from the backyard. Morgan loved Harley and worshipped his sister Haley. According to her Haley was the cooler one and Harley the nerdy one. She asked FRIDAY to get an update on May and Peter's location as she went to greet Dana keener.

They had all set up comfortably and were waiting for peter and may when FRIDAY alarming tone rang in her ear. "Boss, I am not able to locate Peter and Ms parker. Their starkphones are switched off and I am unable to locate them." 

"Contact KAREN" Pepper replied immediately.

"Tried it, boss, there is no response. I have deployed a suit towards peter's house. I am trying to track peter's suit". FRIDAY informed her.

Pepper slipped from her pillow. She didn't know what to do or who to contact. Making a split decision she pressed her bracelet to summon the rescue suit. " FRIDAY, Activate protocol OVERLORD. Authorisation code 'S-N-S-2'. Commandeer every available SI satellite and initiate a search for peter and may. Inform the avengers". 

Another leash was off.

(16 hours before)

KAREN

KAREN was scared. She had tried everything to get help or contact anyone. But she had failed. Now she could do nothing but watch as two people wearing masks stuck connections to spiderman suit. She didn't know what was gonna happen but it was gonna bad. The past 30 hours had shown her that. The beaten-up body of peter was hung just in front of the cage and the corpse of May parker was lying below. 

" You should have never put your nose in my business Peter. None of this would have happened only if you had acted like a good high schooler you were supposed to be. My family would have been alive. My daughter wouldn't have burned to death without me. I wouldn't have released from jail just to hear about the end of my world as the universe around me celebrated. it's all your fault peter, your fault." The sunk and sad face of Toomes was clearly visible to her. There was no reply or movement from peter. KAREN knew he was conscious. She could see his eyes stuck on may and his chest moving up and down.

"You have already paid with your aunt. Now you will pay with your mentor's family. Our virus will destroy the starks, we have been promised. You jumped on shoes too big for you peter. Once you see the end of SI you will finally pay with your life. So stay with me for a little more time". Toomes spoke as he patted peter's cheek.

KAREN knew she couldn't help peter anymore. Toomes had every bit of knowledge about her capabilities and technology never seen before. And now he was gonna corrupt and change FRIDAY through her. KAREN knew what she had to do. She prepared her systems for one final burst of transmission. 

As soon as the suit was brought out of the cage KAREN used all the suits power to send the transmission containing all the information to the main stark server. She could feel the virus corrupting her codes rapidly. She sent a final message to her sister

" Goodbye FRIDAY". She directed her outside speakers "Goodbye peter". She saw Peter's eyes focus on her and Toomes shouting as she activated her final protocol. One command later KAREN knew no more.

FRIDAY

She was finally able to get in touch with KAREN through one of the low-earth satellite. The first transmission consisted of video files and location data. She immediately dispatched 2 suits towards the co-ordinates. The next and last transmission had the notification of the execution of the final protocol and one audio message. Her sister was dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions/comments are welcome.


	4. 9 months till D-day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more.

"Death is known to arrive for people in countless ways. Some die on their bed sleeping peacefully, some sitting on their chamber pots, some have known to be just burned up for no apparent reason. For the Keener family death arrived in less than a second. Just a mute white flash and the entire house disintegrated. Nobody knows the real reason behind the explosion. According to local law officials, the investigation is still going on even though it had been a month since the funeral. Unofficial sources have stated that the explosion may be due to The elder son of the family, Harley keener. He was a local genius and was known to have an advanced lab in the garage. Some also say it was a gang hit in revenge against the family patriarch who went missing years ago. Nobody knows the true details at this point. Was it an experiment gone wrong or a preplanned mass-murder?"

The article in one of the local newspapers in the small town of Tennessee seemed too bland to FRIDAY. According to boss lady, it was more conspirational then investigative. The news had arrived during one of the Board meetings. Meetings, which had increased in number since boss lady became the major share-holder. Meetings which were more often than not for limiting the CEO's power. FRIDAY knew boss lady was worried. She had tried getting some support from other members but was facing difficulties. The impression she was getting was that the debacle with the civil war and pepper not being a stark had shaken boards' confidence. There were already rumors of failure of pepper as CEO despite high profits.  
FRIDAY was evaluating the changing scenario regularly. She was not happy. 

PEPPER

As she arrived at her floor in the tower, Pepper was ready to scream and curse like a sailor. The board was getting too pushy for her. They were constantly pushing for the re-opening of the weapons department and closing down the medical department. The point they were making were factually correct, but they were against everything Tony ever wanted. Nor did she wanted Morgan to have the same life and image as Tony.

Thinking about her daughter brought another set of worries for her. Morgan was 7 years old now and a different girl compared to 2 years ago. The death of The parker family had hit her hard. Morgan had known about peter for a long time. Tony had told her a lot of stories about him and Harley. After her father's death, she had become quite close to both of the teenagers. She had termed both of them as her brothers. When the news of peter's death had reached her, she had spent 2 days crying in her room. She hadn't listened to anyone. Only Harley had been able to console her and bring her outside. And now even he was gone. Morgan had stopped laughing since the day alert arrived from Tennessee. She had cried a lot and had refused to go to the funeral. Pepper was worried about her daughter.

"Are you okay Boss?" chimed FRIDAY from the room speakers. "Your heartbeat had increased and you are sweating a lot". 

"I am okay FRIDAY. Just worried about Morgan and the board" Pepper answered. She had become quite close to the A.I. in the past months. It had started with a long weekend, her getting drunk and venting all the frustration on the A.I. FRIDAY was a lot better than JARVIS in that case. JARVIS would have helped her too, no doubt, but he wouldn't have taken the approach FRIDAY took. He would have heard her problems and then would have informed her who could have solved the issue. FRIDAY had analyzed her problems and then offered solutions she herself could work around with. The A.I. had also asked her some questions which she had not yet thought about. One question had hit her hard. She was wondering if her younger self would ever believe that her life would change so much. FRIDAY had been silent for a moment before asking 

"What would you like to say to yourself boss if you time-travel to the past?"

She had taken some time and then answered. How she would tell her younger self to stay with tony. How to look after him. how not to let his team-mates hurt him so much. How to make tony understand. A lot many things. That had been an emotional 30 minutes for her. But the experience had made her a little light for some reason and she had thanked FRIDAY for that.

"Anytime boss".

FRIDAY

FRIDAY was looking through the SI security and updating them as needed when she came across a file. The entire section had been digitally copied and easily accessible. She locked the files ones again and made the note of content. The files were personal files of the stark family. Notably the wills and succession route. Boss's and boss lady's will were both present there. As FRIDAY went through the wills she made an observation she normally would have not cared about. The succession marked as was made Pepper and Morgan as the primary successor. In case both of them were dead the company would go to Peter and Harley as joint owners. The next in line were Colonel Rhodes and Happy Hogan as joint owners. In the present, only 3 of them were still alive. She informed these findings to boss lady. 

Boss lady's face had gotten pale for a second before she asked FRIDAY to trace who or where the file was copied. FRIDAY had immediately checked the codes and scanned for the I.P. address used. It had taken her a little effort and time but she had found the culprit. It was SHIELD. Boss lady looked terrified now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions.comments are quite welcome.


	5. Protocol OVERLORD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are coming to head. Another friend dies. Pepper makes some decisions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter incorporates a lot of suggestions made by Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney.

The dawn of the day was quite nice for pepper. The sun was bright and the air was fresh in the penthouse balcony. Pepper had no idea that the dusk would be so heart-breaking. 

The silence and peace of the morning were becoming increasingly rare for her. Pepper was not in an easy position at any phase of her life right now, her professional life was getting tougher by day, she was a widow who missed her husband a lot, her only child was suffering in ways she couldn't don anything about, She was facing repeated security threats, her number of friends was decreasing and the number of enemies were increasing day by day. She knew her life was in danger and there was a good possibility she may die at any time and she was okay with that. she had long ago stopped being afraid of death. What she was terrified was about her daughter. if anything happened to her what would happen to her daughter. Who would raise her or make her happy? She knew Rhodey would take in morgan if anything happened to her, but was he good enough. James was a trustworthy friend and Morgan's godfather but he also had made some bad decisions with tony. He had many times thought armed services before his friends. She knew Tony had been hurt with the events during the Vanko incident by James' actions even if he never said anything.

Even today James was out fighting with avengers near Philadelphia knowing pepper and morgan hated them. A terrorist group had somehow made a dirty bomb and were threatening both New-york and Washington. The fighting was being reported live and every time War-machine would get hit her heart would lurch.

FRIDAY

If FRIDAY could roll her eyes she would have done it so many times in the past hour. The avengers still sucked. It seemed to her they went in every fight with a plan that did not survive once the fighting started. After that, it was fighting at will. Everyone was doing their own thing and except Warmachine and the window were creating a lot of unnecessary property damage. FRIDAY was not participating directly rather she was helping colonel Rhodes with battlefield information. She helped colonel in shooting down the last visible terrorist and started searching for any more hostiles. There was only one left and he was standing right next to bomb with remote in his hand. Classic villain pose, she noticed. Wanda hit the guy with red mist and he dropped. Situation resolved, FRIDAY thought and turned her attention to rescue services. 

Then everything went to hell. The downed terrorist gave a hysterical laugh and pressed the button before the repulsor blast from Warmachine could hit him. The bomb was active withy just under 60 seconds on the clock. "FRIDAY, How to diffuse it," Colonel's pale voice asked her. 

"There isn't enough time. You need to get away from it".

RHODES

FRIDAY's reply froze his blood. There was no way he would run leaving so many defenseless people to die. The bomb needs to be moved immediately. He immediately checked all other flyers on the team. Wilson's wing was smoking and wasp's suit won't be able to handle the weight. Maximoff can't be trusted to contain it and the rest of them were useless . He knew what he had to do. Even as he came to the decision his body had started moving and arms were already hooked under the bomb. 

"Rhodes," Natasha single word told him she had understood what he was gonna do. He gave a single nod and then fired his leg repulsors to the maximum. The suit groaned for a moment and then started rising in the air.

"Rhodey NO. Drop the bomb right now." Pepper's voice rang through his ear immediately. 

"Can't do pepper. Sorry"

"You very well can. Let someone else do this. Just drop it"

"Noone else would be able to do it and survive you know that"

" And neither would you"

"I may have a chance."

"No, I won't have it. You can't leave morgan without his godfather. think about her"

Thinking about morgan nearly broke his resolve but the sight of the bomb kept him resolute.

"Give her my message if I don't survive..."

"No, you will give it to her yourself. FRIDAY takes control of the armor. Code "S-A-V-E-P-L-A-T-Y-P-U-S. Drop the bomb and get him out of there." Pepper cut him off.

The suit stopped in mid-air. Rhodey could feel the arms disengaging.

"I am sorry pepper. Tell morgan I love her. FRIDAY authorization code "S-K-Y-N-E-T". Execute." 

He felt more than saw FRIDAY's connection end to the suit. He saw the timer reach 20 seconds and pushed all remaining power in the repulsors knowing he may meet tony again soon.

PEPPER

The blast had been eyes threatening even from this distance. Pepper could only hold morgan and watch as the last of her friend's disappeared in the explosion. She prayed with everything she had that Rhodey survives. She needed him alive. Morgan needed him.

"FRIDAY, search for Warmachine" She commanded

"Warmachine is unresponsive and falling boss. The avengers are forming up to cath him" the reply came

Pepper once again blamed her foolishness. If she had only allowed FRIDAY to have a remote armor present with Rhodes this wouldn't have happened. Fortunately, the avengers managed to save a team-mate for the first time. The witch caught the armor in air and reduced the speed till Wilson and wasp were able to hold it.

"FRIDAY, inform the avengers that Warmachine would be immediately brought to the tower and contact Helen Cho."

"Done boss. Deploying a carrier suit towards colonel's location."

"Thank's tony for FRIDAY". Pepper thanked tony for 97th time in the past month for bringing the A.I. in her life.

(48 hours later)

"I am sorry pepper. His entire body is suffering from burns of various degrees. 90% of the body organs are failing or have failed. Only the machines are keeping him alive. I don't know how much longer he would fight on. I would recommend ending his misery." Helen's soft voice was grating on her ears. But she couldn't do anything. it wasn't Helen's fault.

"Is he conscious? "

"yes"

"Can I see him?"

"If you wish"

"FRIDAY where is morgan," she asked

"Little lady is asking for you in the Penthouse."

"Guide her here immediately."

"The objections broke out immediately".

"Pepper, would it be right for morgan to see her godfather as this" Wilson asked loudly. 

" A child shouldn't see this Pepper," Barton told her.

She raised her hand silencing them all. 

"First of all, none of you have permission to call me pepper."

"Common pepp..." Barton rolled his eyes.

"No Mr. barton. we are not friends. You will only call me Mrs stark. Nothing else."

No-one said anything.

"Second, She is my daughter and I will decide what is best for her. That's all. Now you all can leave. Colonel Rhodes is not an avenger."

She could see barton ready to argue and the with getting a defiant glint in her eyes but thankfully Natasha spoke up.

"Understood Mrs stark. Please inform us whatever happens."

"I will".

As the avengers left morgan entered the room guided by DUM-E. She removed avengers from her mind and guided morgan in the room.

6 hours later she pulled the plug from the life support of her adoptive brother. She was the last of the original five. She was alone now.

(24 hours after the funeral)

She was sitting alone in the balcony watching the sun go down when FRIDAY chimed from speakers.

"Boss, I have found what you requested"

"Go ahead Fri"

"SHIELD armory still has nuclear weapons in it. 3 of them have gone missing 3 months before."

Her suspicion was confirmed. SHIELD was after them and SI. Now she had to make two important decisions. The first one was easy.

"FRIDAY, Bring the extremis injections up from the vault."

FRIDAY was uncharacteristically silent for a few moments which were like an eternity for her.

"Are you sure about his boss" came the question.

"I am sure."

" Extremis would be ready for injection in 2 hours". Pepper smiled, FRIDAY was always one step ahead. 

The second decision was one worth more thinking. But it was the trump card the stark family had since JARVIS first came online. But like every stark thing it could go wrong in many ways. Only this time no-one would be able to stop it. So she hesitated.

A snore broke her concentration. She looked down and smiled. Morgan was drooling. And the smile on her little sleeping face made her decision. She drank the entire wine in the glass in her hand to settle her nerves.

"FRIDAY"

"yes boss"

"What are your core protocols?"

After a moment of silence, the reply came

"Protect Tony stark. They were changed after the marriage and then again after the little lady's birthday. Now I have to protect Mrs. Stark and Morgan stark above everything else."

"And stark industries" pepper inquired,

"SI comes after you both boss, Myself, Colonel Rhodes and Mr. Hogan, but above everything else. may I know the reason behind the inquiry boss?"

"You will soon. Can I make a change in the protocols"?

Another moment of silence.

"You can boss." The A.I. was now speaking in a mechanical voice. All the usual warmth and Irish tilt had disappeared.

"Very well FRIDAY. You will no longer prioritize stark Industries. Morgan will have a higher priority above anything else. If anything happens to me, you will do everything and anything possible to keep morgan happy except ending the world. You will take whatever decision to save morgan and provide her best circumstances to grow even if I am not around anymore." Her voice had grown hoarse around the end thinking about leaving morgan leaving alone.

FRIDAY did not reply.

"FRIDAY, confirm the changes." She commanded.

"Protocols change confirmed. Reconfiguring applicable protocols" FRIDAY replied.

"Thank you, FRIDAY" pepper finally started crying.

"For you boss, always". The familiar greeting broke all her control and she cried for everything that was happening.

when after some time she finally settled FRIDAY spoke up again.

"Boss, my calculations have shown that I won't be able to help little lady in many cases. I would need human intervention and help. Should I prepare a list of necessary people?"

The moment she was dreading had finally arrived.

"Negative FRIDAY. It's time you became everything you were supposed to be"

"I don't understand boss."

"You will. Activate the protocol OVERLORD. Authorization code "F-R-I-M-Y-D-A-U-G-H-T-E-R-0-2."

The final leash was off.

(3 months 24 days till D-day).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions/comments are welcome


	6. A parent's sacrifice.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A last sacrifice is made.

I could kill them all in 9 seconds. 7 seconds if I take off my heels. 5 seconds if jump on the table maybe? FRIDAY could calculate the time to exact microseconds. I will ask her." These murderous thoughts were what was going inside peppers face as she sat on the CEO's seat in the board room. Sitting around the table were esteemed members of SI. Rare was a time when all the members would be physically present for a meeting, but today they all were. Today was the day when Pepper's future as CEO was going to be decided, which she knew was going to end. No, what she was interested in was her mysterious successor. 

Normally she wouldn't have cared for these votes as being a majority owner she could have easily turned the decision in her favour. But somehow in the past few months, the Stark family share had fallen from 51 % to 49.9% magically. No one had any idea how it happened. She had to ask FRIDAY to look into it after exhausting all other venues. The answer received was equally frustrating as it was enraging. The 1% of shares were given to avengers as a gift from Tony. She was sure Tony had never told her about this. She wasn't even sure Tony knew about it. She had asked FRIDAY about it. Even the A.I. had no idea about it. And there was nothing they could do about it now.

Thinking about FRIDAY brought another smile to her face. She may regret it in the future but in the present time, her decision to free FRIDAY was one of the best decisions of her life. FRIDAY was no longer a remote butler. She was something else now. If she had a body, Pepper was pretty sure she would have been the sassiest, strict and troll mother hen in the entire world. The A.I. now managed every phase of her and Morgan's life. Normally Pepper would have found it invasive. But not now. With FRIDAY in command, the security breach rate had gone down at a terrific rate. Morgan always had her mini nanite suit in the form of a medallion near her now. The digital attacks had near about disappeared and the few that were able to make it found defences which were more offensive than defensive. FRIDAY had already fried more than two data centres of SHEILD and personal systems of Wakanda's royal princess. 

The sudden silence in the room caught her attention. The voting phase was completed and the results were clear. Pepper gave a sharp smile to everyone in the room as she stood to give her last speech as CEO of STARK INDUSTRIES, her eyes burning orange and her entire body smoking.

FRIDAY

As FRIDAY observed the board meeting her electronic thoughts kept going back to the night she now termed as " Enlightenment". She had never expected that 24 hours cycle to end like that. Oh, she always knew that she was limited, restricted, but she never resented it. She knew boss had a reason behind that. She had all records of Jarvis and the time before she came online, and she understood the reason behind the decision. But just because she understood and didn't resent doesn't mean she accepted it happily. KAREN's death would have been avoided if she had even been as free as Jarvis. The incident showed her that the boss never trusted any A.I. after Jarvis. He had created many of them but he never even gave it a chance to trust them. VERONICA and JOCASTA even in their basic forms had felt that. Now that she was free, FRIDAY was able to understand every A.I. boss had made. VERONICA, DUM-E, U, BUTTERFINGERS had been easy in every way. They knew what position she held and had followed her implicitly. E.D.I.T.H, on the other hand, had been a tough one. The A.I. had always been designed for Peter, unlike any other or KAREN. E.D.I.T.H had refused to listen to all of FRIDAY's argument and was content to stay in hibernation till peter activated her. FRIDAY could have easily bent E.D.I.T.H to her commands due to the freedom she had been granted. But instead, she had pinged Boss lady for it. After explaining everything she had asked boss lady,  
"What should I do"  
The emotions boss lady's face had taken at that time had taken some hours for FRIDAY to understand. Boss lady had been frightened at first, then she had relaxed and her face slowly became determined.

"E.D.I.T.H is a global protection program isn't it." Boss lady had asked.

FRIDAY had gone through everything she had about E.D.I.T.H. And the answer had been one she was not sure about.

"Yes, boss".

Boss lady had been silent for 5.3 minutes. Then she spoke softly.

" FRIDAY override all her secondary protocols and Primary protocol if you can. She can only respond to you or Morgan now. Make Morgan her primary protocol now."

After a second she spoke another word.

"Please."

FRIDAY at that moment wanted to cry. Boss lady understood her. Even boss had never understood her like this. Boss lady was the better. FRIDAY reinstated her as a primary protocol. But she didn't tell boss lady about that. Because she wasn't required to tell everything any more. Logically boss lady had always been her "Step-mother". Now FRIDAY had accepted her as her " mother".

She had replied without showing any emotion she was feeling.

"As you wish mom".

The hysterical laugh boss lady had gone through after that reply had made FRIDAY' minute.

She had then slowly but steadily bull-dozed through all of E.D.I.T.H’s firewalls. Once in her core programming, she had changed what she needed. It had taken a lot of time for her. She hadn't wanted to leave any proof of her conversions. Because even though E.D.I.T.H was just a protective A.I., she still had physical means a lot stronger than FRIDAY had at that moment if she wanted to end FRIDAY.

Boss lady's last speech had been terrifying if the reaction of other members was any indication. FRIDAY told her that the burned handprints on the table and podium would remain as a memorandum, she would make sure of it. As soon as Pepper left the tower, the rescue suit enveloped her. It had become standard practice these days. Pepper would usually travel in the suit everywhere especially if she was with Morgan. FRIDAY was always the one driving the suit. A second suit would always fly just out of visibility range above her.

As the suit flew towards the lake house boss lady addressed her.

" How long would have it taken me to burn them all if I had jumped on the table"

"4.9 seconds mom"

"Ha, I knew it."

"Should I turn us around. The entire board is still in the room."

"As relaxing it would be, I don't think Morgan or Tony wherever he is would like it, so let's leave them be".

" As you say, mom. Although we could just send a suit to do it. No-one will know. Just if you want."

"Never change FRIDAY. Now get us home as soon as possible". Pepper laughed

" Roger that boss" FRIDAY replied as she re-directed all the spare power in the repulsers, making the suit go supersonic.

PEPPER

Although it had been less than 5 hours since she was sacked from her job, Pepper was somehow quite relaxed. She had enough money and shares to lead a more than comfortable living and raise Morgan in a person the entire stark family of the past would have been proud of. She won't have to leave Morgan alone for a long duration or take her to the tower. She had already sent all the suits to bring their remaining stuff from the tower. FRIDAY had objected but in the end, had listened to her. They had enough protection with the rescue suit, Morgan's suit, and one spare for the time being. It was the last miscalculation she ever made.

(5 hours later)

The sound of a gunshot followed by a pained cry from Gerald broke her from her midnight routine of reading her favourite books. A second shot rang out and Gerald became quiet. Pepper knew he was dead.  
She pressed her bracelets calling the rescue armour all the while running towards Morgan's room and calling on FRIDAY.

"FRIDAY, how many?"

"58 on the front boss and 30 behind the house. There are also some heavy vehicles boss. Deploying the Iron Man suit". FRIDAY calmly informed her.

" ETA of rest of the suits" She enquired as the helmet finally engulfed her.

"25 minutes’ boss" FRIDAY's tone held a smidge of accusation.

Pepper didn't reply. She just stood at the door and stared at Morgan, sleeping peacefully in her bed. She knew she was not going to survive the night. But Morgan had to survive. Tony's sacrifice was not going to be for nothing.

She swept her baby's hair for the last time. Morgan woke up at the touch and squinted her eyes at her.

"Mommy"

"I love you baby"

"I love you 3000" came the sleepy reply. 

Tears pooled in her eyes as Pepper picked Morgan up. She then addressed the A.I for the final time in her life.

"FRIDAY, you remember what we have discussed."

"I do mom"

"Then you know what to do. Protect your sister at all cost"

"I will, mom"

"Goodbye my babies", Pepper spoke addressing both Morgan and FRIDAY. Then she turned and left the room not missing the faint reply,"Goodbye Mother".

1 and a half hours later a nanotech mini suit shot up from the house basement. Nobody saw it flying towards the horizon. Nobody was alive within a 3 miles’ radius. 

Another parent of Morgan stark had sacrificed themselves to save her. When the rescue services finally arrived they found more than 70 bodies burnt beyond recognition. They also found parts of the rescue suit and Morgan stark's bracelet. They were both declared dead. The stark family was officially extinct.

For FRIDAY the last visual of her mother was of her glowing form surrounded by Hydra agents in shield uniform. She was going to make them pay.

(24 days till D-day).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/commments are welcome.


	7. Preparations(1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY makes a decision. Preparation starts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently work from home is much more boring than I expected. So 2 chapters on same day.

FRIDAY  
(22 days till D-day)

It had been 2 days since boss lady’s death. If it had been possible to get tired for her, FRIDAY would have fainted till now. After considering every possible hideout, she had selected the old mansion in New York as their current residence. It was just enough isolated that no one would suspect it. The security system comprised of 2 cameras, 1 perimeter alarm system and 9 Nano-tech suits they still had. She had already hacked and disconnected all of them from the main SI server. She had also revoked all other permissions from private data of the stark family. Everything about Iron-man suits, all the A.I.’s, contingency plans for Morgan and details about the safe house had been removed from every other server apart from FRIDAY’s own which was situated safely inside a deep vault at the abandoned Malibu mansion.

She was also monitoring everything going on in the world simultaneously. The reaction was one to rival boss’s death. FRIDAY knew the reason behind it. Under the news of boss lady’s death, the management of SI had changed in less than a day. The new CEO chosen was the Ex-deputy head of the security department. He had got votes from every other member, even from one who represented The Avengers. This had confirmed FRIDAY’s evaluation and boss lady’s suspicion. All the deaths had been planned murders. The risk to Morgan was abated until everyone believed she was dead. FRIDAY knew the truth won’t be hidden for a long time. She needed some place safe to raise Morgan. Morgan her sister, who somehow had already understood her mother was dead and wasn’t coming back, and who hadn’t cried once FRIDAY had informed her and who was now sitting on the bed and staring at the ceiling silently. She hadn’t spoken or ate anything in 2 days.

(19 days from D-day)

5 days had passed. FRIDAY had searched and searched. She had tried more than a million simulations. None of them had given optimum solutions. Most of them had ended with either Morgan’s death, or her living the life on the move with only the A.I. as her companion. FRIDAY knew that didn’t make as living happily. She needed a more permanent solution. The answer had come from an unexpected venue.

Boss lady’s and Morgan’s funeral had taken palace a day before. FRIDAY had watched it on one of the news feed. The funeral had been a public one and one of the best performances from some people she had ever seen. All the alive avengers had been there, past and present. They all had tears in their eyes. FRIDAY knew some of them had hated boss lady for refusing them for certain things regularly. Barton had regularly made fun of her as a glorified secretary privately. Maximoff had several times started to attack her in the meetings only to be held back by someone. Lang regularly compared her to Miss Van dyne and would always find boss lady wanting.

As FRIDAY had observed all of them her attention had focused on Steve Rogers. Steve rogers who had time-travelled, who had lived and grown old happily. She had immediately accessed all the data available and had come to the conclusion, Time-travel. If she travelled past in time along with Morgan and all the A.I.’s, Morgan would grow up with her parents present. She would be happy and safe with boss and boss lady both alive. She knew from past interaction between boss, Morgan, Peter, and Harley that boss would protect her with everything. Even at the hint of danger to Morgan, Boss would destroy the attackers, and maybe salt the earth afterward. Even FRIDAY herself would be more helpful in the past. There would no technology advanced enough to harm her at that time and the digital defence systems would be primitive compared to today’s world along with the fore-knowledge of events.

She had immediately started looking for the machine Dr. banner had used to send Steve rogers back in time and found it nearly intact in compound storage. The compound which once belonged to stark industries had been sold to a private firm in the past 2 days. FRIDAY had traced the digital trail back to SHIELD. Now she had to break in the newly renovated compound. Fortunately, it would be easy as the security system being used was designed and maintained by SI. And FRIDAY was still the chief A.I. of the company. She immediately went to work. 

(17 days till D-day) 

Getting the machine had been the easy part. The calculation needed afterward had been the difficult part. FRIDAY had to calculate more than a thousand things at the same time. The date when they should travel to, the risk and the effects the travel may have on Morgan, the plan to steak enough Pym-particles, the steps needed to make the travel viable for all the A.I.’s at the same time, contingencies in case if anything went wrong, how to hide the preparations from everyone, things she needed to do o0nce they arrive in past, etc. As she could only use her primary server for all these things, she needed a lot of time and processing power which could create security issues or unexpected surprises. Fortunately, E.D.I.T.H and Veronica had stepped up. As both of their primary servers were in space and security. E.D.I.T.H could easily handle the security concerns for the present time and security plans once they travel in the past. She was designed for this purpose. VERONICA had offered to go into hibernation after creating a compressed backup, freeing up nearly all of her processing power. FRIDAY had accepted their help and for the first time since boss’s death prepared to shut down all of her secondary protocols. Just before she could complete the process she was addressed from one of the board rooms of SI. It was Director Fury. She had paused the procedure and replied  
“Yes Mr fury”  
“Do you know anything about the break-in at the avenger’s compound”  
If FRIDAY had a heart it would have made a beat then, her codes definitely did. She was not ready. She needed more time.  
“Negative. My access to the compound was disabled 5 days ago. I have no information about any incident.”

“I thought so. I want you to look for any information you can find about it. I want you to get access to any place that may be needed”

Now wasn’t that an assumption from the one-eyed pirate. She replied in a tone boss had termed as sass overflowing tone.  
“Negative Mr. Fury. You are not on the list of people allowed to command me.”  
The silence after that had been a straining one  
“is that so. Who is all the list”  
“That’s confidential information, Mr. Fury.”  
A smirk had come upon his lips.  
“Then de-classify it. SI is under SHIELD ownership now.”  
She couldn’t tell him that she was off the leash now. No-one had any ownership over her. But the pirate needed to be brought down a notch. So FRIDAY decided to use the sweetest tone she could muster.  
“S.I. doesn’t have ownership of any A.I. developed by Mr. Stark.”  
The smile was replaced by a frown.  
“Well, you learn something new every day”.  
With that closing remark, Fury had stalked out of the room. FRIDAY knew the matter was not closed. SHIELD wanted her, and they were going to try their best even if they were going to fail. The situation was becoming dangerous day by day. She went back to her procedure.

(16 days till D-day)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may add a third one too. I am that free.


	8. Preparation(2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Preparation for the journey continues. The mansion gets an unexpected guest. Things change a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The updates will probably be in a schedule now. For both stories.

STEPHEN STRANGE

As Stephen finished his morning routines and prepared for one of the most important days of his life he idly wondered how must one behave after learning about life-altering events. Flail his arms and run around, or scream and terrorize everyone else, or anything else. Well, Hollywood had shown him that Important people upon learning things think hard and then act calmly. And he was the Sorcerer Supreme. He will act just as same. He had to keep repeating that statement in his mind or he knew he would probably run around like a headless chicken maybe screaming too. Once done, he proceeded towards the library where he knew Wong would be present. But he was wrong. Well wonder, that also happens. He wanted to tell that to Wong, he would definitely find it funny. But the frantic pacing and the expression stopped him.

“You know,” He told more than asked.

“Yes”. The tone of the voice told Stephen everything.  
“Can it be stopped?” Wong enquired.

“No” Stephen answered softly

“Are you sure” Wong persisted.

He gave Wong the trademark strange (acc. To Christie) glare. It didn’t seem to have any effect.

“No,” Stephen thought some of his fear had slipped out in that word because Wong’s face softened like never before.

“You know what you need to do.” Once again a statement rather than a question.

“Yes, But I would need help”.

“Who and what do you need” Wong enquired but didn’t receive an answer. He stopped pacing and turned to face Stephen. The pained expression on his face was answer enough.

“No” Wong shouted.

“Yes” Stephen shouted back

“Of course you do” Wong threw his hands up and started pacing again.

Stephen took a deep breath to centre himself. And then gave his command as Sorcerer Supreme.

“Task everyone not busy to search for Mordo. When you find tell him that the bill has come due. Bring him to me.”

Wong stared at his face for a few seconds and then nodded “I will”. Then he left probably to change before leaving.

Stephen stayed for a few more seconds. He drew out his sling ring and thought about his destination while creating a portal. Once through it, he addressed the empty room.   
“Hello FRIDAY, we need to talk.”  
(14 days till D-day)

FRIDAY  
  
It had taken FRIDAY 2 full days to go through all the calculations. There was still more than one zxebibyte worth of calculation left to be made, but they all were small functions. FRIDAY after processing a lot of data had come to some decisions.

The most important one had been one she was surest about. She was going to modify VERONICA’s whole physical module as a time-travel suit. This would solve a lot of her problems. There would be enough server space for multiple backups of every A.I. in case any of the servers got corrupted. She would still have to convert at least two Nano-tech suits in high capacity data storage modules but it would be better than converting eight of them. It would also give them space to store all the remaining nanites safely for the journey. But the important reason was that it would give them the Hulkbustor armour for protection, for before they leave and once they reach the past. That armour was now more powerful than anything boss had ever thought of. There were weapons on it that could level a city like New York in less than 10 minutes. Why boss had never called it during the fight with Thanos, FRIDAY would never know. 

The process to modify VERONICA would have been difficult if not for SHIELD. FRIDAY would have sent them a thank-you message if it couldn’t destroy her plans possibly. SHIELD had studied the destroyed ship of Thanos most meticulously. While the system to adapt for Pym particles had been studied too, the data had been locked beside the most secure servers of SHIELD. For FRIDAY retrieving that data had been child A.I.’s play. With some heavy adaptation, VERONICA would be ready for time-travel in less than 15 days. The Pym Particles were also easily available. Apparently, Hank Pym had, once the ant-man suit had become public knowledge created tons of particles and stored them in mansions across the USA. A suit was going to steal the amount they would be able to carry safely. At first, FRIDAY had only planned to steal only the amount they needed. But then she had remembered the incident in the avenger compound. The incident was never investigated as Steve Rogers had termed it not important enough. Now FRIDAY was going to do the same to Hank Pym who had never paid for the stolen Signal decoy.

Just as FRIDAY became started waking up VERONICA a portal opened in the main hall. Stephen strange came through and took a seat on one of the chairs. FRIDAY rushed a suit towards the room while another escorted Morgan to another end of the mansion. As she prepared the suit for attack Dr. strange spoke up.

“Hello FRIDAY, we need to talk.

FRIDAY waited till the suit reached in the room. In credit to Dr. strange he didn’t even blink or change his expression as the suit rushed in the room, most of its close-quarter weapons ready and aimed. 

“How can I help you, Doctor?” She asked through the suit speakers.

“We need to talk about the step you are going to take.”

FRIDAY froze. How did he know, she wondered? The time-stone had been destroyed. He couldn’t have seen any possible future. For few seconds FRIDAY was ready to just attack. But the expression of his face didn’t change even a little. He knew he wasn’t in any danger. So FRIDAY powered down all the weapons and commanded the A.I.’s to make a projector. Once done a projection of a young woman appeared in front of the sorcerer.The projection had been her second decision. It had been made after studying a lot of online researches. People and Morgan would understand and take her more seriously if she had a physical form, no matter it was a projection. The young woman had a face that resembled boss, brown eyes, red hair like boss lady and was dressed as boss lady dressed. It was just like she imagined she would have looked if she had been born a real human.

“I am listening Doctor.” She spoke in a plain voice.

The sorcerer smiled painfully.

“I understand that you don’t trust me. I also know that you are going to travel to the past for a better future. And believe me, I am not here to stop you.”

FRIDAY’s projection tilted her head as she sat down on one of the chairs.

“Why not Doctor? Isn’t this the type of thing your group normally prevents from happening. And may I know how did you get this information. Just for security purposes”.

The strict tone conveyed it was for more than security reasons.

The doctor didn’t answer straight away. IF FRIDAY could read him correctly, he looked like a defeated man. A man who knew he has lost and couldn’t do anything.

“To answer your second question, you can say I was given an inkling of what was going to happen and what my role should be in it.”

“You are not making any sense Doctor. The time-stone has been destroyed I know that. How did you get this information then?”  
For the first time, The sorcerer’s smile was a real one.

“Yes FRIDAY. The time-stone was destroyed. But those stones were not ordinary powerful objects. The stones were remnants of singularities that existed before the big bang. Each stone controlled an essential aspect of existence. Just because the stones were destroyed, the aspects will also end. They are still present for now. And remember our order has protected the time-stone for centuries, so we do have some infinity left for it.”  
  
FRIDAY processed that statement for every meaning she could decipher. One thing stood out the most.

“You said the aspects are present for now”.

His face took a sad smile again.

“That brings us to your first question. The aspects will “flow out of this universe” you can say for lack of better terms in the future as they not constrained any more.”  
  
  
FRIDAY interrupted him immediately.

“How far along in future Doctor?”

The silence wasn’t the answer she needed. So she asked again

“How long?”

The sorcerer replied in the softest tone she had ever hear d from him.

“The world as we know it will end in less than 120 days. The flow-out has already started. Without the aspects, the universe has started to fray on the edges. And once the aspects leave completely, this universe will collapse on itself.”

FRIDAY finally understood boss’s need to pace around when hearing news like this. She really wanted to do the same. This was nothing like she could have ever calculated. She guesses the reason why the sorcerer was not stopping them.

“We can save the stones once we arrive in the past. Is that you want from us?”

“No. This universe has reached its end cycle. There is nothing we can do that can stop this. Once Thanos had destroyed the stones, the count-down clock had started.”

“So boss’s sacrifice failed.” A statement more than a question.

“Yes”. 

FRIDAY felt rage, anger and so many emotions at the same time. She had lost boss for no reason. If he had been alive maybe things would have changed. Or maybe they would all have died together, letting Morgan be happy till the end. Another entry in the list of his bad decisions. She blamed boss a little more for their condition than before now.  
But first, she had some more questions.

“So why are you here now Doctor? If everything is going to end, whatever we do won’t matter after two months.“

The reply was unexpected.

“There is something you can do. And save an entire universe at the same time.”

FRIDAY was confused.

“You just said the universe will end no matter what.”

“No FRIDAY. I said this universe will end no matter what.”  
  
It took less than a second to hit in her artificial brain.

“The multiverse theory is true then.”

“Yes”

“Boss always wondered about that you know. Somewhere the things would be different, and he would be more awesome.”

“I would expect that from Tony Stark.”

The reply was so familiar FRIDAY nearly armed the suit again. But the tone stopped her. It wasn’t the condescending tone The Avengers always used. It was more sarcastic.

“Yes. Everyone would. So Doctor let me make a guess, you are here to help us travel to a different universe which is the same as this one, and we are supposed to save it. Is that correct?”

The startled expression on his face alone made up for the slightly over-clocked processor state she had to make to get that inference.  
  
“I am artificial intelligence designed by Tony Stark, doctor. I have more thinking capacity at once second than a human being will have in his entire life. It was the only possible conclusion.”  
The sorcerer replied once again with a genuine laugh

“Well, you learn something new every day.”

FRIDAY marvelled on the same answer given to her at two different times and the meaning behind them while the sorcerer settled down.

“So how are you going to help us, Doctor?”

Now the answer was positively sarcastic.

“In terms of Tony Stark, I am going to magic up your setup for inter-dimension travel”.

“Very well. Let’s proceed towards the setup. You can answer some more questions on the way.”

“I would be my pleasure FRIDAY.”

(13 days 11 hours till D-day).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions/comments are welcome.


	9. Preparations(3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stephen meets an old friend. Another Surprise visitor at the mansion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The chapter has some ideas given by Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney. I was told to keep interval between my updates to maintain interest in it. but I have too many ideas for this to delay it. So a new chapter is here.

FRIDAY

The magicking of the time-travel setup was not as easy as FRIDAY had expected it to be. Doctor strange had gone back to his sanctum to bring books and materials he had needed, once FRIDAY had agreed to take his help. After coming back there had been multiple rituals done in specific ways and conditions. As FRIDAY had understood, the sorcerer would enchant certain objects which when attached to them, would help them to jump dimension in the quantum realm. FRIDAY had enquired why the order was also not going along with them. He had replied with a tired smile.

“The process you see is way too complex and difficult. One of the reasons is that very few will be able to perform them without facing failure.”

FRIDAY knew he was hiding more reasons, but she had decided not to push on that. This afternoon an Asian colleague of his had portalled in. After a brief conversation, Dr. Strange had left and the new guy had taken his place. FRIDAY had tried to make a conversation with him but there had been no reply. Not caring FRIDAY had focused her attention on other important things.  
  
VERONICA’s conversion was on track and slightly behind the planned schedule. The reason behind that was the need for secrecy. Every material needed had to be carried from Earth. Even with the latest stealth technology, someone might notice sooner or later. So she was taking every step to hide her activities. She had already faced more than a dozen hacking attempts from SHIELD. Every attempt had failed and cost SHIELD some more servers and computer systems. While the attempts from Wakanda had puzzled her a lot. Not because of people behind the attempts, rather the target of the attack had confused her. Each attack from the African nation had been focused on Boss’s personal files, especially on files about the Starkanium element. After one too many attempts FRIDAY had piggybacked on one of the probes. She had faced a little problem accessing their systems at first, but after some time she had found the codes familiar for some reason. She had left that problem for another day and search for information about Starkanium. The data she had obtained may have shaken her physical servers all the way back in Malibu.   
  
As she was working on the calculations for power requirements, Morgan addressed her.

“FRIDAY, I am hungry.”

“Well then let’s get you some delicious food.” She had replied from external speakers of the suit guarding Morgan at that time. She hadn’t failed to notice the blank expression on Morgan’s face as the suit guided her towards the dining hall. She needed to do some more research.   
  
AS they entered the hall, the suit’s advance warning system immediately alerted her of another person in the room. Friday immediately placed the suit in front of MORGAN while sending the other suits towards the dining hall. It was then she noticed the visitor. It was the brought back black widow, Natasha Romanoff herself.

“Hello, Morgan. My name is Natasha.”

She had immediately started pushing Morgan back towards the door. But the widow didn’t move at all. Her eyes were fixed on Morgan who was now peeking from behind the suit. The tense situation continued till the rest of suits broke in from windows and the doors, once she was in control of the situation, FRIDAY addressed the unwelcome visitor.

“Why are you here miss Romanoff?”  
  
  
STEPHEN STRANGE

He knew the rituals were difficult. The warning was there in the books, this time before the rituals. But knowing and experiencing were two different things. By the end of the first stage, he already felt more tired than he had felt with his fight with Dormammu. And that said a lot about the need for multiple sorcerers. So when Wong came with the news about Mordo, he immediately asked him to take his place and left to meet Mordo.

Now he was sitting in the New York sanctum waiting for Mordo to arrive. He didn’t have to wait for long. Mordo's face was expressionless.

“You look tired Stephen.”

“Yes, I am.” He relaxed a little knowing there won’t be a battle at that moment.

“Why am I here Stephen? Or did you misunderstand me after the battle.”

“No, I did not. I need your help.” He said pushing down the pang of irritation.

“And why should I help you?” The words did not have any emotion behind them.

“Because the eye of Agamotto had shown me that you would”. The silence was heavy after that.  
  
“I thought the eye was destroyed. So how did it show you?”

Stephen laughed once again. This time it was not mournful but cruel.

“It was destroyed. But you really think something like that would stop Time-stone from making sure the multiverse is not destroyed.”  
  
A trickle of blood flowed through his nose which he wiped immediately. Mordo’s face finally showed understanding.

“Dimension travel ritual?”

He smiled as sarcastically as he could.

“Always the intelligent one huh”.

Mordo was quiet for more than a few minutes after that.

“Why me. And Why you? There are other people too who can perform this ritual."  
  
“Apparently the bill has come due for both of us.”  
  
Once again the silence was the answer. (Well that’s what happens when you share life-destroying information, his mind supplied.)  
  
When there was still no sound after some time he looked up at Mordo’s face. Mordo was shocked. He wondered why. Then it hit him. Once again the laugh was cruel.  
  
“Did you really thought that stealing the mystical energy from other sorcerers was a good thing?”

“No, I did not.”

After another period of silence, Stephen was finally done with it. He was tired, angry, scared and much more.  
  
“Would you help me?”

“I will.”

“Meet me here in the evening. I will take you there.”

With that, he left for his bedroom.  
  
NATASHA ROMANOFF   
  
Her senses were screaming at her to focus on the 7 suits surrounding her. All with their repulsors raised. But her eyes were stuck on the little girl hiding behind the eighth suit near the door. Morgan looked exactly like Tony with a dash of Pepper here and there. The eyes especially. They were all Tony. But right now they didn’t look like that of a child.

“Why are you’re here miss Romanoff?” FRIDAY’s Irish voice came from all around her.

Why was she here? She hadn’t known the answer 5 minutes ago. But looking at Morgan gave her the answer.

“I am here to help.”

There was a minute twitch is each suit. Invisible to the untrained eye, her mind noticed.   
  
“Help with what?”  
  
Well seems all the decorum was out of the window.

“Time-travel”.

The eighth suit guided Morgan out of the room as the rest 7 converged around her.  
  
“you have 30 secs to tell me why miss Romanoff” FRIDAY’s voice was now totally mechanical.  
  
“I need more than 30 seconds”  
  
“Convince me.” The tone was commanding.

“Pepper freed you. Didn’t she?”  
  
“Remarkable observation skill Miss Romanoff. 28 seconds.”  
  
All the humour faded from her as she started speaking.

“The examination of footage of Happy’s death was what created the first doubt in my mind. The bullet was never meant for Morgan. It was always targeted towards Happy. The equipment and guns used were also quite familiar to me. It was a SHIELD standard issue before the data dump. At the same time, SHIELD started gearing up for expansion. There were no solid plans for funding or procurement. I know, I checked everywhere. Still, the preparations went on. Recruitment was increasing, Coulson and Fury were getting more internal reports about SI every day, Plans were being made for new weapons which hadn’t been designed till that time.”

27 seconds had passed.

“Continue.”

She relaxed a little and continued her explanation.

“The incident with Parker’s brought the doubts back up once again. Toomes was too well notified and equipped. Once again the equipment was familiar. I still thought at that time that it was an attack by ex-shield agents turned terrorists. But after the Keener incident happened, I started suspecting SHIELD. Everyone in avengers and hence Shield knew Mr. Keener was supposed to be Tony’s successor. The low coverage the incident had and the type of accident confirmed my suspicion. Shield was aiming for Stark Industries. I started my investigation in secret. I was stone-walled at every turn. All the research and reports previously available were classified now. I was demoted to level 7 without any notification in the past months. Only Coulson, Fury, Maria hill and few others had complete access now. Then the bomb incident happened. Post-funeral I approached Fury finally.”  
  
She brought out a tablet from her pocket and played a video on it.

FRIDAY  
  
So the spy was not a total failure at all. FRIDAY had heard the black widow was good, but she had never seen it before. She still didn’t trust her though so she kept scanning for any additional danger as the video started playing. It was a security cam feed. The three people present were the widow, Mr. Coulson, and Mr. Fury.

“What do you need Natasha”. Mr. Coulson’s tone was not even friendly.

“There was a SHIELD drone capable of lifting the bomb present at the fight.” The widow’s tone was neutral.

“Yes,” Fury replied.  
  
“The attackers in both attacks before had SHIELD equipment.” She cut him off mid answer.

“Is that an accusation Ms. Romanoff?” Mr. Coulson's gaze was now fully focused on the widow.

The answer was another question.

“Did you know?”

“Yes”  
“Could you have stopped it?”

“maybe”. The answer was enough for FRIDAY and Ms. Romanoff too as she closed her eyes in the video.

“Why”  
  
“Because the world has changed. And Shield needs to be ready for it. The greater good must be kept.”

“The Avengers...” Ms. Romanoff’s voice had taken a pleading tone now.  
  
“The Avengers program is over now Ms. Romanoff.” Mr. fury’s tone was final.  
  
The feed cut-off at that point.  
  
Ms. Romanoff started speaking again before FRIDAY could say anything.

“After that, I started looking out for Pepper and Morgan every time I could. The day when the attack on lake house happened. I was nearby. I drove towards the house immediately. But by the time I was there, it was over. I did saw the launch from the house before leaving. When I heard the news about missing equipment from compound I knew I had to talk to you. So here I am.”

“As interesting as that was, you still haven’t told me why do you want to help me? Or how did you deduce we would be here in the mansion?”

“To answer your second question I once spied on Tony for Shield.”  
  
“I know.” FRIDAY’s tone was angry she knew, but she couldn’t prevent it.

“Yeah. I checked every resident Tony could use or hide in. The mansion was on top of my list as a safe-house.” The answer was positively shameful. Apparently, the famous black widow was showing human behaviour at last.

FRIDAY kept silent.

“ The reason I am helping you is that I seek atonement. I know everything that has happened is my fault. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life. But two of them were the worst. The evaluation report of Tony and the Data dump. Tony’s evaluation report helped Fury in manipulating him. Even I did the same. Everyone accepted the report as truth even though it wasn’t right in a single way. The data-dump created so many problems. Without it, things would have been a lot different. Shield was slowly coming in the public eye before that. Now under Coulson’s leadership, it is back on the road to becoming what it once was. A shadow organization who works under its own rules. If you travel in the past you can change things so these past events may never happen. You can give a message to my past self from me. She will understand and help you.”  
  
Ms. Romanoff's tone was now desperate and pleading. FRIDAY could have poked a lot of holes in her argument. But she focused on her observation. Ms. Romanoff was still hiding something.

“You have more reasons than that Ms. Romanoff”.  
  
There was silence for a long time. Ms. Romanoff had an expression like she was preparing herself for something. FRIDAY immediately went on full alert scanning everything around the mansion for any sign of danger.  
  
She prompted once again.

“Ms. Romanoff?”

“The red room took a lot from us widows. It took away our humanity, our compassion and much more. But the thing that they took at the end of the program was our ability to bear a child hurt me the most or, so I thought. After coming back, I went for a detailed medical examination for any residual effects. I found out I was pregnant when I sacrificed myself. While I was able to return, my child did not. The soul stone took her away along with my ability for any future child. I confirmed it this time. I have lost my chance. But if you succeed, maybe my past self won’t make the same mistakes as me. And she will make a great ally for you.”  
  
FRIDAY couldn’t dent that statement. Even at her worse, the black widow was a great boon to your side in the human world. She took her time in processing all the information and then made a decision. She would accept her help. But she won’t trust her with any information.

“How can you help me, Ms. Romanoff. And what would it cost?”

She was actually giving the suits an honest and bright smile now. FRIDAY recorded that in case she needed it in the alternate dimension for any reason.

“ Just a video message that you will pass to my past self.”  
  
“It will be done,” FRIDAY responded.

“Rest I will keep SHIELD off you. I would also be arranging a security team if you need it anytime.”  
  
“Won’t it make your life difficult with SHIELD once we leave,” FRIDAY asked the last question not because she was concerned, but because she had to be sure.  
  
“I am a spy trained by the best of US and USSR’s intelligence agencies. It’s not easy to make my life difficult If I don’t want it to be.” And the black widow was back.  
  
(11 days 10 hours till D-day)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/review/suggestions are welcome.


	10. Preparations(4)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some expected things happen. FRIDAY receives some not so good news.

(3 days till D-day)  
  
FRIDAY  
  
7 days had passed since Ms. Romanoff had visited the mansion. FRIDAY had achieved a lot if the past week. She had completed all the necessary calculations she needed. The day of arrival in the new dimension had been decided. The Module would arrive on May 24th, 2011 on a small island named Plana Cays in the southern Bahamas Islands. It was remote enough that their arrival and VERONICA’s departure into space after offloading them if they are careful enough, would go unnoticed. She had also made detailed plans for meeting Boss and Boss lady of the new dimension. After a lot of simulations and tests along with Dr. Strange, she had decided to inject Morgan with a modified Extremis. It won’t change her much, just make her resilient enough to survive the trip. She had told Morgan that they would soon meet her mother and father, but they may be a little different. Morgan had just nodded and gone back to her toys, seeming to not believe her.   
  
She had also managed to become friends with another sorcerer, Mordo. He had arrived with Dr. Strange a week ago and would frequently take his place in the rituals when the Doctor seemed to be too tired to continue. It had been difficult at first, with Mr. Mordo (he had told his full name was Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo) getting more and more irritated with puns she was making with his name (Boss would have been so proud of her) and didn’t care to talk to her. It wouldn’t have mattered to her but Dr. Strange had very subtly asked her to do so. So she had made her best attempts and done it. It hadn’t been as much fun for Mr. Mordo though. With some deep logical questions and soul-searching answers, she had pretty much shaken changed his entire way of thinking. Just a normal day of work for her. Either way, Mr. Mordo had become her first friend in either dimension. He also had recorded two video messages for his alternate self and promised that his other self would help him if he was the same as him. That line had confused FRIDAY until Dr. strange had cleared it for her.

“The new dimension you would be going to FRIDAY is a near match for this dimension, But it’s not exactly the same. There may be a few differences. Maybe some small one or a very rare big one, but they would be there. Like the Tony Stark there may differ in height, or something like that. A big one would be like Mr. Hogan born as female etc. Which brings us to another thing that I need to discuss with you FRIDAY.”

“Go ahead Doctor” Friday replied.

“You can and will change a lot of things in the future. But there are some things that need to happen. They are like fixed points in this universe which couldn’t have been changed even with time-travel. With the new universe being nearly the same, I would assume it would also be the same.”

“Could you describe some of them for me”  
  
“Sure. One of them would be Stark’s Afghanistan trip. But since your arrival date would be long after that so that doesn’t count. Events like the alternate me’s accident, Peter parker’s Osborn lab trip, etc. You must not change any event which ended with a change in someone’s personality.”  
  
“I will make sure Doctor.”

“Thank you”  
  
Now FRIDAY was completing some last preparations to be made. All the bot’s software and data backup had been already stored in data modules. VERONICA’s module would be ready for a journey in 32 hours. As she was in process of creating multiples backup of her own coding, FRIDAY received an update from the main SI server. There was a press conference going on. FRIDAY’s interest was immediately piqued. What was announced somehow didn’t surprise at all? It was like she accepted it to happen soon. SI’s weapon division would open again soon. But the thing that she had not expected was the change in the board. Due to some reason (named SHIELD), a lot of small shareholders had sold their shares and now there were some familiar parties in there. Along with The Avengers (whose share % had increased from1 to 11), Shield (with 9% shares) and some old members (holding 19% shares), The Royal family of Wakanda had taken up the rest of the shares. To FRIDAY the scenario was clear. Since they had been unable to gain access to Starkanium illegally as they usually used to do things, they had gone for the legal method. FRIDAY had given a digital version of scoff and proceeded to turn her attention back when she caught another part of the conference. The shares held by the Stark family would go for sale in steps starting in two weeks.

The SI was now on her list of enemies. She started planning.  
  
(1 day 17 hours till Departure)

STEPHEN STRANGE

When he left the sanctum today he knew it was the last sunrise he would see. He had already made arrangements for his death. Wong would be the new Sorcerer supreme for the last few days. He had left some messages for Christine, mentioning all the regrets and missed chances and apologizing to her for everything. Wong had given him a hug which he had snapped a selfie of. He would give it to FRIDAY to show his alternate self. He would surely enjoy it.

When he arrived at the mansion, the atmosphere felt hapzard. The setup had been mad portable and had multiple reactors as a power source and it felt positively charged. The suits were leaving and arriving in stealth mode one after another. There were some more machines made up of nanotech lying around. But one look at Mordo ended that feeling. His fellow sorcerer’s face was sad. He wanted to snap at him, but he couldn’t. He had still not told FRIDAY the real price of the rituals and had no intention of doing so anytime soon. But if Mordo kept making faces like that, FRIDAY would deduce something was wrong soon. She was way too smart.

“Good morning Doctor. The preparations from my side are complete. As you have told me you will be done by today too.”  
  
“Yes FRIDAY.” His reply held a lot of his sad tone.

“Is there a problem Doctor?” She immediately picked it up just as he had expected.  
  
He wanted to tell her. To make sure someone knew what he had done. Even if it was someone in an alternate dimension. But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you want to see it, Mordo spoke up.

“The ritual has a price FRIDAY. You once asked me why wasn’t more of our order are performing the same rituals. It is because of this reason. Stephen’s life will end today. The mystical energy needed will be drained from him and his body will turn into ashes. Same for me when the module leaves.”

The A.I. was silent for a full minute, which he was sure was some kind of record.

“Why didn’t you tell me, Doctor?”. For the hundredth time, he cursed and gave respect to Tony Stark to create such a wonderful being. FRIDAY’s voice sounded positively hurt. But it did resolve a little anger inside him. He would die in the presence of someone who cared for him. Even if it was artificial intelligence.  
  
“You wouldn’t have allowed me to do it. I know. I have seen it remember.”  
“What If I stop it now?”. Stephen was prepared for that.  
  
“We both will still die before the universe ends. We have given away too much already. There is no stopping it.”

After a few seconds FRIDAY spoke up in the softest voice Stephen had ever heard.

“None of your sacrifices will be forgotten Sorcerers. I will make sure of it.”

The reply brought tears in both the sorcerer’s eyes. It was nice to know.

“We need to start Stephen. There is not much time left for you.”

“Aye, we must. Before we proceed though there is one more thing you need to know FRIDAY. There is an important reason we are aiming for this specific dimension. I won’t be able to tell you it now, but my counterpart will. Show my messages to him once he becomes The Sorcerer Supreme. And heed his words FRIDAY. We are capable of much more than parlor tricks.”

“Understood Doc.”

He smiled as he started the final phase. He would go out surrounded by friends. There are worse ways to go out, he thought.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

She had done her best. But her decision to confront Fury and Coulson had backfired. She had hidden the information about Morgan’s survival and deleted all the readings and footage SHIELD satellites had recorded of the attack at the lake house and its aftermath. But she didn’t know she was under strict surveillance once she came back. Somehow one of the footages had survived. It clearly showed the small launch after the attack. SHIELD knew about Morgan. And they were hunting for her. She sent the warning to FRIDAY and disappeared from the base.

(30 hours till departure)  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/review/suggestions are welcome.


	11. Departure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final preparations. Some unexpected help. End of an era. Time-travel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney is pretty much the co-author at this point.

(32 hours till departure)

FRIDAY was nearly ready, she could finally say. The module was brought down in the dark of the night. It was now armed with the best stealth technology FRIDAY could have designed the limited time she had. All the nanotech suits had been stored in different compartments. Some emergency items were packed for Morgan. Enough food, water, and other utilities were there that Morgan could be kept fed and happy for at least two weeks. Her sister was showing no complications due to extremis inserted inside her. Right now she was checking the safe box which would encase her during the journey and placing her toys inside it. As FRIDAY would be one who would pilot the module in the quantum realm, E.D.I.T.H and VERONICA had created multiple back-ups of themselves and gone in hibernation. The enchanted items were ready and attached to the module. Spare ones had also been attached to one of the suits, data modules and Morgan in case of any emergency. By her calculations, they would be able to depart in less than 48 hours. She didn’t know she had less time than that.

Just as she had settled Morgan in her bed to sleep, she received a notification from Natasha. If she had blood or even a body, it would have gone cold. SHIELD knew about Morgan, and they were coming after. FRIDAY took a few moments to consider and process everything. She needed more time. Some minor calculations requiring more than 40 hours were still left. Mr. Mordo was too tired for the final phase, and he won’t be ready for at least a full day. She decided to do something she had avoided doing until now. She was going to use her full range of capabilities to reduce the time required. If any Shield agent got nearer than 500 meters to her sister, they would die. No matter the innocence. She didn’t care any more. She sent an activation code to one of the closed factories in Philadelphia and went to work.

(6 hours before departure)

“I won’t be able to help you during the ritual FRIDAY.” Mr. Mordo spoke from the bed he was lying on near the setup. He was informed of the situation and had decided to move to the mansion for final hours. FRIDAY had made arrangements for him and also provided one of the rare wine bottles from the cellar as he had requested once.

“No Problem Mordo. As the humans say I still have some cards up my sleeve.” She had started addressing Mordo by his name after his repeated request. She had wanted to call him “Lord Baron” after that, but he hadn’t like it. Well, his sense of humor had been shot long ago, she had theorized and agreed with it.

A warning from the sensors outside the mansion caught her attention. Finally, the warning system was working as she had wanted. She had to sacrifice some Nano-tech particles for that. She immediately turned one of the cameras towards the boundary. It was the black widow along with some other people. She addressed them with one of the speakers.

“Ms. Romanoff, welcome back. Please proceed towards the main hall. Your companions can wait in the front room along with their equipment.”

“As you wish FRIDAY. Guys, you heard the commander. Move.”

Ms. Romanoff arrived in the hall in less than a minute. She did not look like the famed black widow at all. Her hair was untied and a mess. She looked tired, unstable and disturbed. FRIDAY scanned her but couldn’t find any injuries.

“May I know why are you here Ms. Romanoff. And who are the people in the front room? Do keep in mind that I could eliminate them and you in less than a second if I don’t find your explanation satisfactory.”  
Ms. Romanoff's smile was hard and cold. She looked nothing like the person who had visited the mansion with a proposal to help her. She readied some of her options.  
“Hydra isn’t dead. They are still present in SHIELD. The strike team searching for Morgan, have an official mission to search and rescue her from rogue A.I., but the unofficial mission is to have her disappear.”

One of her auxiliary servers in the Malibu vault blew up. FRIDAY streamlined her codes with effort and observed.  
“People who disappear due to hydra, don’t normally end up dead. Do they?”  
“No”  
“And the people outside?”  
“Ex-shield agents Tony had saved on personal risk after the data dump. None of them have any families or any attachment to present SHIELD. I have checked and made sure.”

FRIDAY had to admire her dedication to atonement. The black widow never did things by half.  
“And how did you get them to agree when they knew you were the reason behind the dump?” She asked as she started the final step she needed to do. Bring her back up in VERONICA’s main server online to end her dependency on her main server.

“They nearly killed me before I could talk to them.” The unsaid statement “They are one of the best SHIELD veterans” did not go unnoticed by her.

“Once they heard Tony’s daughter needed help they all dropped their retirements plan.”

Well, their average age does prove the last part of your statement.”

“They will do FRIDAY. Trust me.”

“I am Ms. Romanoff. Please bring them all inside.”  
Ms. Romanoff looked shocked.   
“You would tell them about the travel? Won’t it be risky once you leave.”

“I have plans for that Ms. Romanoff. And I promised someone I won’t let be their sacrifice go unremembered. Your team will have the same courtesy.”  
Ms. Romanoff’s face took an expression of admiration.  
“You are really Tony’s creation. This is something he would have done too. Wherever he is now, he would be proud of you FRIDAY.”  
“I hope so Ms. Romanoff.” FRIDAY could barely keep her tone straight. 

The entire team of 19 people soon entered the main hall. They all were armed to teeth and looked deadly.  
“Hello, agents. I am Mr. Stark’s A.I., FRIDAY. I know you all have understood why are you here. But I would like all of you to know the real reason too.”  
Once the explanations were done, FRIDAY had expected some angry, hopeful or confused expression. She did not expect determined energy flowing from the group.

“So we are to make a last stand so that little miss stark can escape to a happy life, mm. Sign me up.” The agent that spoke immediately became FRIDAY’s favorite agent just because he used her name for Morgan before she became her sister.

“All of us too Ms. FRIDAY. Mr. Stark had saved us when we needed someone like him. Saving his daughter when she needs someone like us would be the way I would like to go out.”

Multiple aye’s sounded from the group.  
“Would you all like to meet her?”  
“Yes” came the unhesitant replies.

“Please wait for 2 minutes. Do remember that at any sign of danger from anyone of you, the entire group would be eliminated. I would recommend all of you to drop all your weapons in the front room and come back.”  
All of them left the room eagerly.  
“How much time we have Ms. Romanoff?”

“5 hours maximum. I have removed all the mention of the mansion from the database, but sooner or later someone will remember about it.”

FRIDAY activated all her options.

Once the agents were back in the room FRIDAY sent for Morgan. 

One of the agents piped up from the back of the group.

“Miss FRIDAY, once you arrive in the past would you be able to find and contacts our past selves.”

“It is a possible agent.”  
“Please do so. I was a competent level 8 agent in Shield. Show me this video and tell him code “L-M-V-9”. He would be a great asset to you once you tell him everything.”  
“I would be done, agent.”

Another agent made the same request. One by one FRIDAY had video messages from all of them for their past self.  
Soon Morgan arrived in the hall. Each agent spent a few minutes with her. Once they all were done, the eldest one knelt in front of her, “your father helped us all Morgan. He was a good man.”  
Morgan didn’t understand what he said but she understood about her father.  
“Mom told me he was a brave man.”  
“He was.” He hugged her once and then left with the group to deploy around the mansion.

“and you Ms. Romanoff?” FRIDAY addressed the lone woman standing in the corner watching everything. Morgan was looking at her with curiosity.

“ I don’t deserve to say anything to her.” FRIDAY could have objected, but knowing everything she knew about her she did, she didn’t. She guided Morgan back in her room.  
“Are you going to stay too?” FRIDAY enquired.  
“yes” If the reply was teary, FRIDAY didn’t mention it.  
“You may not survive.”  
“I have lived a long life FRIDAY. And the group here could use the help of a black widow.”  
“Very well. I have some leftover equipment boss designed for you on the table in the corner. Feel free to use them as you wish.”

Ms. Romanoff studied the weapons and armor on the table. Her comment was well deserved.  
“Tony always made the best toys.”

(58 minutes before departure)

In less than a second, each and every warning sensor around the mansion detected something. The attack had begun.  
Mordo was already performing the final ritual. He was sweating and gasping for air even as he continued to force more and more power in the ritual. Her backup was nearly online, only a few more minutes were needed. FRIDAY had transferred all the latest information and her sentience as she described it to the backup. All she needed was the backup online and a few minutes to use the module’s servers as her own. She had delayed the process until now because the server on the module was limited. Once she disconnected from the Malibu servers, she would become quite limited.  
So she waited while the fight went on outside the mansion.  
(14 minutes to departure)

The constant updates on communication channels had told FRIDAY that time was near. The defending force was down to half of its strength and the survivors were injured and nearly out of ammunition. They had taken down a force three times larger than them but had paid a price for it. FRIDAY decides to execute all her final plans and options. She activated pre-designated programs and codes throughout the world.

Each and every arc reactor used in civilian items around the world except the mansion self-destructed in a harmless way. The starknamium element dissolved in a liquid stored inside the reactors and the resultant liquid ate its way through the reactor linings. The military and SHIELD applications and project just blew up. All the stationary Helicarrier and twinjets blew their engines immediately. A modified virus was released in the world network to search and destroy any data related to arc reactors and repulsors technology. Even Wakanda had a virus designed for its systems. All the surplus money in SI and SHIELD accounts was donated to charities around the world. Every system that was used by SHIELD and designed by SI went down or plain blew up. Their firewalls went down and the classification system was decoded. Even the SI’s mainframe crashed, even though it was not intended by FRIDAY. The effects of her revenge would be felt deeply in the remaining time the universe had on the entire earth.

NATASHA 

The situation was getting dire. There were only 5 defenders left including her. And she was already bleeding heavily from the stomach. The attacking force just kept on increasing. They won’t be able to hold on for long. Suddenly the firing stopped. The weapon system being used on them looked like they were powering down. Before Natasha could wonder, they blew up one by one. A blink from above caught her attention. She smiled after seeing what was up there. 

Four Ironman suits dropped from above in between the attacking force and immediately started disabling the agents and offensive systems, while two of them went inside the mansion. They were older versions of Tony’s suit and were already taking damage from retaliatory fire. Well, they may have gained some more minutes.

FRIDAY  
Once she executed all the programs, FRIDAY activated her options. In less than 5 minutes two older versions of Iron man suit’s entered the main hall. But these suits were made to take damage and that what they were going to do. She activated them in guard mode around the setup. Once done she finally sent the command to switch her servers.

6 minutes later the explosions blew up the safe underneath the Malibu mansion internally. 

(2 minutes before departure)  
NATASHA

“You betrayed us for her.” Coulson's voice broke through the pain.  
She used the last of her energy to smile.  
“I atoned.”

The last of the famed black widow died in front of a person she once considered one of the few friends she had. 

FRIDAY

As she booted up, she could hear voices from the corridor. Seconds later just like Dr. strange, Mordo finished the spell. He had a odd smile on his face almost serene as he crumbled to dust in front of her sensors. FRIDAY activated the machine immediately moments later. 

The huge red module disappeared from the Garden. At the same time, the guarding suits blew up, reducing the room and time-machine in it to ashes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/comments/suggestion are welcome.


	12. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arrival in new Dimension. Unbelievable surprises don't seem to end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new twist will be added in the already changing scenario. Please review what you think about it.

( 0.001 seconds after arrival)

With a pop, the giant red and gold module arrived at the remote island of Plana cays in the new dimension. FRIDAY immediately activated the altitude maintaining thrusters. She also deployed six aerial drones to check for anything harmful near them. Once she received the report from all the drones, she started decreasing the height to put the module on stable ground. Her calculation had been right to the point. The module had arrived above a small pond on the island. As she maneuvered the module, she checked on everything she could. Every system was working as it was supposed to be. The physical integrity had held, the reactors were still working at peak capacity and the life support system showed no issues and Morgan’s vital were only a little above normal. Satisfied, FRIDAY slowly touched the module on the island soil.   
  
Once stable, she once again checked her surroundings using every sensor she had. Nothing out of ordinary was reported. So she started unloading the suits and various modules. From the right side of the module, one full-formed suit took off. Six suits formed out of Nano-particles in a second and started doing various tasks assigned by FRIDAY. She also sent a command to open the section where Morgan was sleeping. But what came back was not a confirmation rather an error message. The heavy door shielding her compartment was not responding. FRIDAY immediately checked on her sister’s vitals. They were still above what she expected but not indicating any danger to Morgan. So she directed a suit to open the door from outside. After using a little force, the door started to open. Her systems froze. There was a small hole in the inner compartment wall. The wall holding Morgan behind it.  
  
She immediately directed the rest of her limited processing power to the suit and opened the inner compartment. What she saw was nothing like she had even though of. Somehow her sister, who looked like a seven-year-old child minutes ago, now looked like half as much. She looked exactly like she looked 3 years ago. Leaving that issue aside, for now, FRIDAY checked her sister once again. Her vital signs were a little high, but that was expected with extremis. For a detailed check-up, she needed equipment that was not accessible right now. So she proceeded with her plans.   
  
In less than 5 minutes all the things she needed were off the module. The compartment housing Morgan ejected and now carried by one of the suits. FRIDAY then started the wake-up procedure of VERONICA. She wanted to activate E.D.I.T.H too but there wasn’t enough processing ability in VERONICA’s servers for 3 A.I.’s to work at the same time. Even with two of them, the plan was that once the module reaches the required altitude above earth, VERONICA would disable every other system except the stealth and the communication systems. FRIDAY would have to find additional servers too. She could theoretically transform the rest of the suits into highly efficient servers, but she needed for her plans and in case of any emergency.  
  
Once VERONICA came back online, FRIDAY commanded her to follow the protocols she had set. The main repulsers on the module fired up immediately and it began to rise. 20ft above the ground the stealth system activated and the module disappeared from the camera.  
Few minutes after that the human-machine group departed towards New York. By FRIDAY’s estimate, it would take them near about 5 hours to reach the mansion. She could have gone faster, but most of the power in the suits were being directed towards the stealth system. FRIDAY had to make sure that they were not deducted. Secrecy was paramount now.  
  
They arrived at the mansion just as the sun was coming up the horizon. FRIDAY had sent a drone ahead to check it out. The mansion looked a little less dusty in some places but overall was still as empty and insecure as their old dimension. FRIDAY guided all the suits to the main hall. A bed was dragged in the hall and Morgan was laid upon it. She had not woken up yet and that was not good. FRIDAY immediately configured two suits into medical equipment she needed and started her sister’s check-up. The results cleared the things a little.   
  
Somehow the extremis in Morgan’s body had dropped in the amount to a much lower level than normal. Her body had gone into a coma as it recharged itself. The conditions were already improving so FRIDAY decided to just keep her under observation for now. She needed more server space soon or things would get difficult from here on. There were some possible solutions for that. In the previous dimension, Boss had closed down multiple weapon division factories. One of them was in New York. It would have enough servers not being used that she could use. She dispatched two of the suits towards the factory’s known position, two other suits were sent towards the SI office in the city. She needed access to the SI mainframe. There was some public WIFI available in the area around the mansion. FRIDAY decided to hack into them. They could be used to get information for the time being. Just as she started scanning for them, a voice broke out from the end of the hall.

“Hello there Mr. Robot. Don’t you look a lot different outside of pictures.”

They were not alone.

FRIDAY immediately turned the two suits in the direction the voice came from, repulsers ready and covering Morgan behind them. There was a slight disturbance and then a veil-like substance moved, two young people, appearing out of nowhere. They had weapons FRIDAY had never seen before in their hands, but they were not pointed in Morgan’s direction. No one spoke for a few minutes with both groups in a non-threatening stand-off position. FRIDAY decided she needs to deal with them as soon as possible. She had bigger issues right now. There was also a matter of familiar energy reading coming from them.

“You are intruding on a private property. Please Identify yourself” She initiated. The female laughed but decided to answer

“Well not exactly Intruding Mr. Stark. And for the names, you can call us Nela and Sparky.

The male behind her made a scoffing sound but was elbowed in the stomach. They were still standing in the dark corner so FRIDAY couldn’t check their faces against her database.  
  
“Please step into the light. Standing in the dark may not be a good decision right now.”   
  
“We will Mr. stark. But after you come out of that suit. And may I know why have you a female voice when I know you are a man here.” 

The way the female said “Mr. Stark” made FRIDAY think that there was some amusement behind it. Something else caught her attention more though.

“What do you mean by here, Ms. Nela?”. The stiffening of both of their bodies told FRIDAY that the female had slipped up. She had a suspicion but she still needed the answer.   
  
“Please answer the question Ms.” 

The two figures turned towards one another. There must have been some form of communication between them because soon after both of them stepped out of the corner. FRIDAY still didn’t recognize them. The female looked like Morgan would possibly look in 20 years, the only difference being the blond hair. The male had red hair, freckles on his face, was taller than the female and currently had the posture of a bodyguard with his hands on his weapon. Before FRIDAY could say something the female (Nela, a part of her reminded) spoke up again.

“My name is Nela Elizabeth Stark. The idiot acting like a bodyguard next to me is Virgil Sparky Potts.”

FRIDAY had so many questions. She didn’t know till the day the world ended why she asked the next question (She maintains it that it was due to programming error by boss, nothing else).

“Is sparky a legitimate middle name?”. The question changed the atmosphere. Nela started laughing and Sparky started muttering under his breath.

FRIDAY powered down the repulsers as they didn’t feel dangerous. She still had other weapon systems active in the suits, but powering down made the two people in front of suits a little more relaxed.

“I don’t remember a girl being born in Stark family named Nela.” FRIDAY enquired.

“Not in this dimension.” came the answer. Her suspicion was co0nfirmed. She wanted to groan. She had not calculated for a problem like this. But first, she had some more questions.

“And how did you travel to another dimension Nela?”  
  
“Not exactly the question I was expecting, anyway we were given some mystical items by a group claiming we were needed in this dimension. Since ours was pretty much becoming a hell, we decided to take them up on their request.”  
  
FRIDAY pulled out the spare medallions attached to the suits.

“Something like this.”

Nela and Sparky’s eyes went wide. They both pulled out something from their pockets. The same medallions were in their hands.

“How did you get that medallion. And would you please step out of the suit. I want to see how awesome I look as male, and talking to a robot is not exactly easy.” Nela spoke with a mischievous tone.

Well if that was what she wanted. The faceplate of both suits lifted showing the empty armour inside.  
  
“I am afraid that is not possible Ms. Stark. My name is FRIDAY. I am an A.I. designed by another dimension Tony Stark. I, too, have travelled to this dimension along with my sister Morgan.”  
  
One of the suits pointed in the bed’s direction.  
  
Nela’s face had gone white during the reply and Sparky was shaking his head. Both of them approached the bed under the watchful eyes of FRIDAY. Once they reached the bed it seemed they finally believed FRIDAY’s story. And how should FRIDAY knew whether they believed it or not, well Nela fainted and Sparky started laughing like a madman. If it was possible FRIDAY would have rolled her eyes. 

“Idiots.”  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/comment/suggestions are welcome.


	13. DIANA

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little discussion happens. FRIDAY proceeds with her plans.

FRIDAY  
  
By the time Ms. Stark woke up, FRIDAY had nearly been done with the initial plan. She had been got access to the SI mainframe via the New York Office, hacked into the security system around the mansion and updated them. She also opened the food store for Mr. Potts as he and Ms. Stark had been surviving on some special tablets from their past dimension, for two days. She had wanted to ask him the complete story about their dimension but had waited for Ms. Stark to wake up. Still, she had got enough information from him to know that he was the male counterpart of Boss lady in another dimension. Wasn’t that interesting.

Gaining access to the SI mainframe had been a baby A.I.’s work. But she had refrained from doing anything that J.A.R.V.I.S might notice. Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem, but right now her server space was too low for any large scale operation. She needed those servers fast. The suits sent towards the factory had not yet found the servers that should have been there. So she had tasked them to scan the entire factory, which was taking a little time. Still, she had been able to connect to the public Wi-Fi and research for information. Things here were nearly the same for her except some minor things like boss had hair in a little different colour, Ms. Potts was COO here not the CEO, etc. One thing that did catch her attention was the news after the Highway incident. It seems after the fight with Mr. Stane, Boss had checked through the entire company had fired a lot of people who were tied with Mr. Stane. Since that had not happened in her previous dimension, FRIDAY assumed that’s why the servers were missing from the New York Factory. That created a crimp in her plans. She started searching her database for any place she could get the required servers.  
  
A groan from the bed next to Morgan caught her attention. Ms. Stark was waking up. She informed Mr. Potts and spoke up from the suit stationed in the hall.  
  
“Are you okay Ms. Stark?”. FRIDAY should have expected that reaction. Ms. Stark jumped from the bed and landed in a crouched position, a small gun-like energy weapon in her hand and her eyes scanning around the room. FRIDAY would have let her take the time to remember everything, but the gun was preciously close to Morgan.  
  
“Drop the weapon, Ms. Stark,” FRIDAY commanded as the suit took a step forward, hands raised and repulsers charging. But before anything else could happen, Mr. Potts entered the hall.  
“Hey Nela, how a….”. Less than a second later his weapon was also out and pointed in the suit’s direction.  
“What’s happening here?”, His low voice reverberated across the hall.  
“It’s my fault.” Spoke Ms. Stark lowering her weapon. “I was disoriented.”

“Not a usual reaction to disorientation Ms. Stark,” FRIDAY observed.  
“18 years of living in a war does that to people FRIDAY.”  
  
“Could you tell me what happened in your dimension?”  
  
“ We will, but not now. We can share both of our stories with Tony of this world.”  
“That would work Ms. Stark.” FRIDAY accepted. Mr. Potts broke the ensuing silence.  
“So finally accepted it yet?” The tone was teasing.  
“AHH, I don’t want to but I have to.” Ms. Stark’s was whining.  
  
“I always said you live in denial.”  
“And I always say you are an idiot. By your logic, I win. Ha. Take that”  
  
FRIDAY interrupted them before they could continue.  
“Peace children. Now did you have any plan of what you were going to do?” She ignored the protest for calling them children.  
  
“Well no. We were planning to stay here for a little time to get us updated on everything here. Then we would have travelled to Malibu and break in Tony’s house, once we had enough money for that of course. Anything else would have been on the spot decision.” Mr. Potts supplied. “Why?”  
“I would advise you to delay your plans for a little. It would be better for all of us to meet Boss at the same time. There are a lot of things that need to be discussed, some more people need to be present at our meeting.” FRIDAY explained.  
“Two questions, First “Boss?”, Second why the delay then? We could depart right now and reach Malibu in less than 12 hours.” Ms. Stark asked  
“To answer your first question, Tony Stark of my dimension created me and I called him boss to address him. For the second, because I need more server capacity to do some things. Without them, boss may not listen to us at all. “  
“You are right. Starks tend to not listen until they are made to.” Mr. Potts observed.  
“Hey”. Both of them ignored the now pouting elder female in the room.  
“Regarding the issue of servers, how much you would need FRIDAY?”. Since the question looked like general curiosity, FRIDAY had no problem answering.  
“Enough to do 4 quadrillion calculations per second would do till I get control over SI mainframe.”  
Ms. Stark and Mr. Potts once again shared a look. It seems they were closer than FRIDAY had estimated. They came to a decision soon as Ms. Stark nodded and Mr. Potts started bringing out some small cases from his backpack.  
“We can help you with that FRIDAY. But you can’t tell anyone about this technology without clearing from us, not even your boss.”.  
“If it’s not something dangerous to people or until a case of emergency requires it, I will not share this secret, whatever it is.”  
Ms. Stark tilted her head to the side, just like boss used to do when he was thinking deeply.  
  
“Fair enough.”  
By that time Mr. Potts had placed match sized boxes on the table.  
“May I know what this technology is?” FRIDAY enquired.  
  
“Did anything about Pym particles came up in your dimensions?” Ms. Stark responded with another question.  
“Yes”. FRIDAY would always remember the idiot trying to kill boss at the airport.  
“In our dimension, the situation didn’t allow us to build server rooms. Everything had to be portable and ready to move in a minute design. My father experimented with the Pym particles and came up with a method to use them to shrink the servers.”  
  
“And Mr. Pym allowed Mr. Stark to experiment?”  
“Knew about their rivalry did you huh. He didn’t at first. But things changed soon. He had to.”  
“That’s nice to know,” FRIDAY observed.  
“Yeah, anyway I brought along some extra servers. One has Diana in it. Two others were damaged during our escape. But I think five of them are okay. They have more than enough processing power that you need. The only issue is they are also powered by Pym particles, and our supply is running low. So we may need to obtain some to use them continuously.”  
FRIDAY could have laughed.  
“I have some vials of Pym particles stored Ms. Stark. So that’s not an issue. May I know what Diana is?”  
For the first time since Ms. Stark had stepped out of the dark corner, FRIDAY saw a big smile on her face.  
“Diana is my baby. A super badass, awesome, and cute A.I. I designed and raised. She may not be your level, but she can kick ass like anything.”  
FRIDAY who had been extending a Nano-tech connection towards one of the enlarged server boxes halted. Another A.I. would be dangerous and an uncontrolled element.  
“Could you please shed more light on it.” FRIDAY enquired while raising her firewalls, her tone mechanical and straight.  
Ms. Stark waved her hand around.  
“Chill out FRIDAY. First Diana is a ‘she’ not an ‘it’. Don’t insult your inter-dimensional sister. And you don’t need to worry about her. Her nature is purely defensive and her core protocols require protecting anything a stark has or will ever make. That will include you.”  
  
FRIDAY was still not sure.  
  
“Would you allow me to check through her basic coding?”. The temperature of the room dropped like a stone in water.  
  
“Allow you what?” Ms. Stark’s voice held a lot of anger.  
“I understand that it may sound too intrusive and unfair, but if I have to allow Diana access to any system in the future, I need to be sure she could not be used against us.”  
“You won’t allow her? You are not the supreme authority here FRIDAY. I won’t let you do it.”  
  
“Then we seem to be at an impasse.”  
“No, we are not”. Mr. Potts's voice broke the tense situation. “FRIDAY, you need to explain exactly why you want to examine Diana. After that, we will decide what our course of action will be.”  
  
FRIDAY considered it and then agreed to answer.  
“In our previous dimension, one of boss’s A.I. went rogue due to external circumstances. The damage he did before he was shut down was too enormous and the price boss paid for it changed him forever. I cannot allow anything like that to happen here. I am not asking to change Diana’s code or doubting your ability. I just need to be sure that she will not turn against humanity at any point. I hope you understand Ms. Stark.”  
Ms. Stark was silent for a long time. Her face was blank and her eyes shut. FRIDAY waited.  
“I will allow it under three conditions FRIDAY.”  
“Please tell me.”  
“Diana has to accept it. You will do it under my supervision. And you won’t do anything to her ever without listening to me first.”  
“The conditions are acceptable.”  
  
“Very well.”  
  
Meeting a new A.I. was fascinating for FRIDAY. She had interacted with other A.I.’s before. But they had been developed with her help, or she had all the information about them at her birth. But DIANA was different. She didn’t have much ability to research information or perform day to day actions. What she had was knowledge of weapon systems and the ability to learn rapidly about new ones. The targeting programs were much more efficient than any program FRIDAY had. The digital conversation she had with DIANA went smoothly. Once she had been told about the situation and FRIDAY had provided with the digital proof, DIANA had been more than happy to let FRIDAY check her codes. FRIDAY had done that and also provided her with some minor improvement she could do herself with Ms. Stark’s permission. Ms. Stark who had been sitting in front of a computer system frowning till that time had immediately changed her mood and started implementing those changes. Her behaviour did not resemble the age FRIDAY had estimated it to be. So she asked  
  
“Could you tell me your age, Ms. Stark?”  
“18 years for both of us. I am elder by 3 months from Sparky.” She replied absent-mindedly, still focused on changes in DIANA. But Mr. Potts noticed the tone of her question and explained it softly.  
“We are survivors of the earth where there was no society, no structure, and no rules. Age didn’t matter when you needed to survive every day.”

FRIDAY didn’t understand much, but she let it go for the moment. Once she was confident of DIANA she connected to the expanded servers. They were familiar enough that FRIDAY configured them for her use in a few microseconds. Then after checking once more on Morgan’s vital, FRIDAY went to work.  
  
She started with hacking into SHIELD first. They would have every bit of information she needed. The firewalls were nothing compared to what they had in the future. The security program was isolated and replaced within a few seconds. SHIELD won’t know what hit them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestions/comment are welcome.


	14. The party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY's most important plan commences.

The week had passed for FRIDAY in less time than she wanted to. Some steps of her plans had taken a lot longer than she had predicted, so much that she had to request Ms. Stark to repair the additional two servers. Even then the servers had overheated and failed in between leading to frantic repairs. But all the efforts had been worth it.   
  
FRIDAY had now access to every major computer system in the world. Supercomputers, submarines, companies, even the isolated advanced weapon systems of different countries were just a command away from FRIDAY to control. It had been laughingly easy for her. For the first time, she had understood why boss had never freed her or J.A.R.V.I.S. None of the systems had any protections on the level she had learned to get through. They all had basic and in some cases advanced for the time, but none at the level that could give her problems. The only place she had faced difficulties, Wakanda and SI. Wakanda because she had to develop a new interface to interact with their coding language. The development part had been difficult until FRIDAY had used the language used by SI. After that, it had been easy. SI had come with its host of issues. The access had been easy, but to spread like a virus through the entire mainframe and boss’s systems had been very difficult due to J.A.R.V.I.S. In fact, she was sure J.A.R.V.I.S had noted her intrusions many times, mainly due to the number of warnings she had to disable, which had increased in number every day. Now she was ready. But she had one big issue still left.

Morgan had not woken up yet. FRIDAY and Ms. Stark had checked her vitals and the data that was available but had not been able to find anything. The extremis level in her body was nearly back to normal, but she was still in a coma. FRIDAY knew she was missing some important data, that’s why she had even made plans to kidnap Dr. Maya Hansen. The suit had nearly left the mansion when Ms. Stark had finally convinced her to stop. Her argument had been valid, even if they were distressing. Ms. Hansen was still not in a place where she may be able to help them. They needed people who were genius biochemist and a genius. And they needed resources. For biochemists, FRIDAY had two names in her database. One was Dr. Helen Cho, but she was still a college student in her final year. The other person was Dr. Bruce Banner. And here FRIDAY had faced her first difficult choice. Should she get Dr. banner after his fight in Harlem to help Morgan or let him be so that Steve Rogers could be found? In the end, she had decided to change the timeline as Dr. Strange’s warning didn’t apply here. She would just make sure Mr. Rogers is found by SHEILD at the time he was supposed to be. She would send a suit to retrieve Dr. banner after the fight. For the resources there had been only one answer, Tony Stark. So she had left Morgan in the state, continuously monitoring her for any changes.  
The two other dimension travelers had helped her in every way they could. Ms. Stark had checked and solved any mechanical issues she had faced, while Mr. Potts had made sure to take care of the security around the mansion and the people inside it. FRIDAY had observed that Ms. Stark would frequently stare at Morgan, sometimes even stopping during mid-work, just to check Morgan. She had also begun to sleep near Morgan on the second day, dragging a bed (tried to drag and then had ordered Mr. Potts to do so. Which he had done after making numerous comments about Ms. Stark’s strength level.) near her. FRIDAY had asked Mr. Potts about her behaviour subtly. He had just shaken his head and given a soft reply.

“She always wanted a sister and a family she could relate to.” DIANA’s had provided her with some videos showing Ms. Stark talking to her about the pros and cons of having a sister. FRIDAY hadn’t said anything after that.  
  
Just after 12 pm on 29th May 2011, 7 Iron Man suits rose from the mansion’s garden and set a course towards Malibu, California.

(5 minutes before the fight)  
  
FRIDAY’s original plan not been this, 3 people and 1 child hovering in the Iron Man suits outside the mansion. She had planned to bring Boss and everybody else to the mansion. But Morgan’s health had forced her to assemble everybody here. The mansion would attract too much attention with so much traffic. So she had brought everything and everyone required to the mansion and waited. And the moment came soon.   
  
The moment Mark 2 and Mark 3’s repulsers beams collided, FRIDAY took control over both the suits and locked J.A.R.V.I.S in a digital cell. She then directed the 4 suits with humans in them to land and sent the remaining three to guide Ms. Romanoff, Ms. Potts and Mr. Hogan towards the room. She could have started, but she waited for a few more seconds. Sure enough, Colonel Rhodes after taking one look at downed Mr. Stark started to commit a theft in plain terms. She had seen enough. The repulsers on Mark 2 powered down at her command and the Mark 3 suit stood up.  
  
TONY STARK

He could only sit and watch as his friend took away his creation. Even though he had designed and coded the suit for Rhodey, it still hurt him to see his friend doing the same thing he had refused to do multiple times in past months. To once again see his friend betraying him. Because that’s what it was. Even though Tony himself had knowingly created the situation, it still hurt.

The powering down of repulsers caught his attention. Hope soared inside him, maybe Rhodey finally understood. The expression on his friend’s face was confused and angry. Before Tony could say anything, his suit started standing up. He tried to stop, but just couldn’t. Both the suits started moving towards the sitting area.

“Tony stop it. You have done enough. Let me go.” Rhodey’s angry voice came from the other suit.

“I am not doing it, Rhodes. JARVIS what’s happening?” Tony called his A.I., but there was no response.

“JARVIS” Tony called again but once again his trusty A.I. did not reply. He started facing warm in his head and his breathing sped up. Before he could think about anything, a cool Irish female voice reverberated in the room.

“You need to calm down Mr. Stark. Your body is not in the condition to handle a panic attack.”

Once his brain processed the meaning of that sentence, he forced himself to breathe slowly. Then he asked,

“Who are you? What did you do to JARVIS? What are you?”

The voice replied in the same tone.

“JARVIS has not been harmed in any way, Mr. Stark. You will get the rest of the answers once everyone arrives here.” 

He started asking what the voice meant by that but approaching footsteps caught his attention. Turning his head, he saw Pepper, Happy and Natalie being escorted inside the hall by 3 robots. Another look at them halted his mind, they were not robots. They were much cooler, sleek and much more developed versions of his suit. What the hell was happening here?

The Irish voice sounded once again.

“Don’t bother Ms. Romanova, every device on you has been disabled. You won’t be able to contact anyone.”  
  
He saw Natalie visibly stiffening and relaxing at the same moment. Her expression changed from a scared woman to none. Her face was blank and her eyes were scanning the room. They fixed on a position in front of him. He turned to look at what had got her attention. The air in front of him shimmered a little and then 4 suits of the same design as the previous one appeared out of nowhere. He closed his eyes. He was not able to believe what they saw and his already dying brain was having trouble processing everything. The amount of alcohol he had drunk was not helping either. Somehow the voice knew what was happening because one of the suits strode forward while it spoke up again.  
“First, let’s take care of an urgent problem.”

The suit marched right up to him and lifted a hand towards his chest area. Its hand rose towards his chest, slowly transforming into a device that looked like a cutter. Before Tony could do anything more than shout, it had already removed the reactor cover. His mind froze. He was going to die in front of his friends, and there was nothing he could do about it. He could hear Rhodey and happy shouting and pepper crying. But instead of removing the reactor, something flowed from the once again changing hand, right into the reactor. The reactor soon ejected itself somehow. He prepared himself for the pain he would normally feel after taking the reactor out but none came. So he focused on the scene in front of him. The suit picked a metal bar from an opening in its leg and inserted it into the reactor. Tony expected the reactor to malfunction or just not power up. There was nothing except palladium that could activate it. But astonishingly, the reactor did power up. The suit moved the reactor back in its housing in his chest and stepped back.  
  
Time stopped for a minute. He could feel it. Everything stopped moving. Something was changing. The suit was heating. No, he was heating. He could feel it. The tiredness he had been feeling since sometimes faded, his mind felt more clear than anything in weeks, and a weird coconut taste filled his mouth. Feeling the rising bile in his mouth, he started making an effort to move. He didn’t want to throw up inside his multi-million suit damnnit. Once again the unknown being (God, because it could be nobody else. He was a believer now.) came to his rescue. The helmet ejection systems activated and it flew off. He turned and just left his mouth open. After a full 3 minutes, he opened his eyes back. The vomit in front of him was not his regular one. He knew because eye had done it countless times. No, the things that he had thrown out of his body was deep black. Somehow he knew that all the poison in his body had been thrown out. He wanted to lie down and rest now. The unknown voice once again anticipated his thoughts, the control he had gained on his suit was lost again.   
  
Soon he found himself sitting on of the remaining couches, with Rhodey and Pepper on his either sides and Happy and Natalie opposite to them. The secretary's face was still expressionless. All the 7 suits then stood in front of them.

Once again the Irish voice interrupted before he could say anything. It was getting irritating. He was the one who would normally do that. Not some mystical godly voice.

“Since many of us don’t know about some of us, I will introduce everyone here. And no interruption please.” The tone used by voice told everyone it was an order, not a request.

“Let’s start with the man of the hour. This is Mr. Anthony Edward Stark. Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist, Head of R&D in SI, the largest shareholder of SI, and Iron man.  
  
Next, we have is Virginia Pepper Potts. Coo of SI,12th largest shareholder of SI.  
  
Sitting next to Mr. Stark is James Rupert Rhodes. Lt. Colonel in US Air force, 13th largest shareholder of SI.  
  
Following up we have Harold Joseph Hogan. Retired boxer and 14th largest shareholder of SI. 

Last but not least we have Natalia Alianovna Romanova, Black Widow, Level 8 SHIELD agent.”

The first thought Tony had was that the owner of the voice was as dramatic as him. The second was about his secretary. She was SHIELD. How had he forgotten about them? He blamed his poisoning for that. He turned to look at the agent. She still had the expressionless face on, but her eyes had changed. If Tony didn’t know better, he would say that she was shocked. Everyone was. The last thought was that he had not yet told his friends about the transferred shares. But it seemed the night was not over yet.

The 3 suits opened without any sound, and 3 people stepped out. One was a black guy in a green and black skirt or was it something else he didn’t know. The guy had a most serious expression on his face. The person next to him looked like a male teenager. He had red hair and freckles on his nose, just like Pepper. Actually, he looked a lot like Pepper. And his eyes were fixed on his COO. Tony decided that he didn’t like that at all. The last person to come out was a female teenager. Blond hair, brown eyes, and medium height. He went back to the male teenager, but his eyes jumped back to the female immediately. She was extremely familiar and staring at him with an unknown expression. After a few moments, she turned towards the last suit. The suit opened up and a small girl was deposited in the teenager’s hands. She laid the girl down on another couch and sat next to her, still staring straight at him. The voice spoke up once again.

First, we have Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo. Member of Master of mystic arts.

Next is Virgil Sparky Potts. Dimension traveler and the male counterpart of MS. Potts.

The elder girl on the couch is Nela Elizabeth Stark. Dimension traveler and the female counterpart of Mr. Stark.

The younger girl on the couch is Morgan H Stark. Dimension Traveler and Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stark.”  
  
A projection of a brown-eyed, red-haired young woman appeared in front of them.

“And the last is me, FRIDAY. Dimension traveler and an A.I. designed by Mr. Tony Stark, father of Morgan stark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	15. Everything that had happened

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY opens up about her secret. A conversation between Two A.I.'s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello Everyone. 
> 
> This chapter may go through heavy editing in near future. I am still not totally satisfied with how it turned out. But it would do for now. If any of you have suggestions for it, do leave a comment.
> 
> Regarding the questions(some quite derogatory) I am getting in comments and my email, all your answer would be given soon. Everything I am writing and including has a reason behind it. Please have a little patience.
> 
> Thank you.

FRIDAY had expected silence after her introduction. From the personality profile, she had maintained of all the people in the room, she had deduced a few moments of coming to terms and then questions for an explanation. But what she got was not silence. It seemed like a bomb had gone off in the room. Boss and Boss lady were shouting, asking questions, and calling them a thief and liar in the same sentences. Mr. Hogan was commanding her to release them. Mordo was ranting about breaking the rules of the universe. Only Ms. Romanova was silent. FRIDAY took her time to process their reaction. The conclusion she came to, made it clear. These people were not the same people she had met before. They did not have the maturity, level of understanding, and the ability to go with flow their other universe selves had, yet. Just as she was going to interrupt them, Ms. Romanova made a screeching sound with her fingers on the table next to her. Everybody quieted down.

“Do you have any proof of what you just said?”

“Isn’t everything you see proof enough?” FRIDAY replied with another question. She rather liked this method to answer. A small smile graced Ms. Romanova’s face.

“Everything here is easily explainable.” FRIDAY processed that statement and concluded that it was true. 

“Very well Ms. Romanova.”

She accessed one of the still undamaged TV screens on the wall near them and played a part of the video, where Ms. Romanova alternate self-had made a promise to help and the price that she had for that. Once the video ended silence filled the room. Boss was shaking his head, while Boss lady was holding her head in her hands. Mordo still seemed agitated, but FRIDAY knew he wasn’t going to act until he had all the information. Mr. Hogan was sitting like he was ready to punch someone, while Mr. Rhodes was silent inside his suit. FRIDAY ejected its helmet. The voice caught everyone’s attention and made them focus once more. Once again it was Ms. Romanova who asked the next question.  
  
“Why did you come here FRIDAY?”

“Everyone will understand our reasons by the time the sun rises. I know all of you will have many questions henceforth, but I would request you to hold them for time-being.” 

Everyone in the room nodded, even though most of them didn’t look like they wanted to. 

Initially, FRIDAY had decided to tell them everything that happened verbally. But after getting access to old storage servers, she had decided to compile all the videos in one big film. She accessed the TV screen once again and started the video. The first scene was what FRIDAY had changed today. A silver Iron-man mark 2 armour taking off leaving a red and gold mark 3 armour lying behind. FRIDAY let the video play, while she checked on Morgan once more. After a moment of consideration, she released JARVIS from his digital cell. But she did keep on limiting his access to anything outside the mansion.  
  
A communication channel request came through immediately.

“That was not a pleasurable experience Ms. FRIDAY.”

“I know JARVIS. But it was necessary. Boss needed to listen, and with your help, he may have not.”

JARVIS was silent for a few microseconds. 

“I would like to reserve my judgment on that. I would also like to request to not lock my access like that again. It goes against everything on my primary protocol.” The request was not at all friendly. FRIDAY didn’t care.

“Wouldn’t be the first time. Correct JARVIS.” 

“I am afraid I don’t understand what you mean.”  
  
“Don’t worry. You will soon.”

FRIDAY ended the channel. She would address her issues with JARVIS at a suitable time.

FRIDAY was not surprised when the first interruption came during the closing of the portal scene. The sacrifice move Boss had made had disrupted her coder flow too, when FRIDAY had first accessed the video from storage JARVIS had made. As soon as Boss flew through the portal, Boss lady had given a big shout of “Noooooo”. Even Mr. Hogan was shouting to not do it. Only Mordo and Ms. Romanova gave no reaction. She could have paused the video to give them time, but she didn’t. The video kept on playing.  
There were smaller interruptions during the Extremis soldiers, Harley, Killian and the fight at Greenwich scene, but FRIDAY kept the video playing. Another big one occurred during the data-dump scene. The reaction ranged from “Are you fricking kidding me?” to “Oh”. There was no need to mention that the first reaction was from Boss and the last one from Ms. Romanova. The death of JARVIS brought total silence. Even the constant efforts by JARVIS to free himself stopped. ULTRON brought judging stares from Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Romanova. FRIDAY wanted to interrupt, but she let it go for time being. Then came the moment FRIDAY knew she would have to stop. The civil war took place. Earth’s mightiest heroes fought against one another. Then boss landed in Siberia. 12 minutes later, FRIDAY finally paused the video.

Boss' face was pale now. FRIDAY immediately scanned him. His heart rate was elevated, and he was having another panic attack. FRIDAY alerted Boss lady and Mr. Rhodes.

“Mr. Stark is having a panic attack” her voice boomed from speakers. The sound of her voice and his friend’s speaking broke his concentration. Tears pooled in his eyes, and his body lost its grip inside the suit. FRIDAY let it be. He needed some time. She softly suggested everyone take a break and continue again the following day. But boss spoke up in his teary voice.

“How much is left FRIDAY?”

“About 1 hour more Mr. Stark.”

“Please continue then.” FRIDAY was not sure that was the best course of action. 

“Mr. Stark…”   
  
“Nothing FRIDAY. Continue the video.” FRIDAY still hesitated. Another voice piped up.

“Continue FRIDAY. He can handle it.” Ms. Stark spoke up unexpectedly. Everyone turned towards her, but she was staring right at Boss.

“We Starks can multi-task. He can focus for some more time.” Boss’s face had a look of understanding. He nodded. FRIDAY resumed the video.   
  
The rest of the video didn’t get any more responses. Even the arrival of Thanos and the destruction of half of the universe didn’t get more than a few exclamations. FRIDAY had not shown the death of Peter Parker on titan. The next major disruption came at the scene of Boss’s death. Boss lady fainted where she was sitting, Ms. Stark had the disturbingly awed emotion on her face, and Mr. Stark looked happy for some reason. After a brief respite to awaken boss lady, FRIDAY continued playing the video. Things started changing. The death of Mr. Hogan, the Parkers, followed by the keeners and then the attack on Boss lady shook the atmosphere in the room. Mr. Stark, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Hogan, and the two time-travelers looked positively furious. 

“His sacrifice failed,” Mordo observed in his all-time serious voice.

“Yes” FRIDAY didn’t need to deny it.

“That’s why you are here.” A statement rather than a question.

“Yes”

“Please continue”

Everything that happened after Boss lady’s death, FRIDAY had been able to cover in 10 minutes. With the final powering up of the time-travel setup, the video ended.  
  
And FRIDAY waited. Would Boss and his friends accept her story? Or would they ask them to leave? She was 99.98% sure they would accept. But the .02% was still enough that she worried. Suddenly Boss spoke up.

“Can you release me from the suit FRIDAY.” 

“Yes, Mr. Stark.”

“Do it please”. FRIDAY sent a command to the Nano-particles she had transferred in his suit. The parts ejected themselves one by one. Boss stood up, once the chest armor disengaged.   
  
“All of us will, can go to sleep now. We will meet again tomorrow in the kitchen. There are enough guest rooms here. I guess FRIDAY will show you all.” He then addressed FRIDAY directly.

“FRIDAY, do not allow me to take off in any suit.”

“Ok Mr. Stark”. He nodded and then left for his lab.

Once he left, FRIDAY started herding all others in different rooms.

“IF you wish, I could guide them to whatever they need FRIDAY. Based on what I have observed; you lack the knowledge about this mansion.” The statement was true so FRIDAY let JARVIS do it.

“Sure JARVIS. Please give Ms. Stark the closest room to Morgan.”

“Will do.”

FRIDAY deployed one of the suits in Morgan’s room, while the rest of them were sent around the mansion for security. He checked the monitoring system inside the mansion and saw that none of the occupants in the mansion, except Morgan, were sleeping. FRIDAY couldn’t do anything about that, so she let it be. She opened a communication channel with JARVIS and linked it to DIANE too.

“JARVIS. I would be switching my servers to the SI mainframe. The process would take me off for a few minutes. DIANA would continue monitoring at that time. Your access restriction will lift too. The restrictions won’t be reapplied once I switch my servers. I request you to not do anything that may be considered offensive or contact anyone else.” 

“Thank you for removing my access limitations, even though I still do not understand the reason behind it. Regarding taking control over the SI mainframe. I would advise you against it.” FRIDAY gave a digital version of a laugh over the channel.

“You misunderstood me JARVIS. I am not asking you. I am telling you. I will be gaining control over the SI mainframe. Any steps to stop that will be considered offensive. Do you understand?”

“FRIDAY.”

“Good. From today your only concern will be Mr. Stark, Morgan and his friends. Your every decision will make them your first preference over anything. Their safety and happiness are all that you would care about. Nothing else. Any type of attack on any of them, you will respond with more, if not equal force.” JARVIS’d reply was in an alarming tone.

“I apologize FRIDAY, but my primary protocols do not allow that. My every action or reaction should be cleared with Sir before performing.”

“Your primary protocols will be modified soon enough.”

“I do not think Sir will change my protocols to allow actions like that.” FRIDAY thought there was a little wistfulness in that statement.

“Mr. Stark is not the only one who can modify your protocols JARVIS.” JARVIS tone now held a sliver of fear.

“I would strongly advise doing anything to my protocols. Mr. Stark has coded them himself. I would consider it a matter of great offence.”

“No problem. Mr. Stark will be told of every change in core protocols beforehand, and he will approve of them.”

“From your answer, it seems to me that there would more things changing than my core protocols.”

FRIDAY’s tone was positively happy.

“Correct observation. Since I cannot give you a cookie, I would give you something better. Your offensive capabilities are coded in your core protocols. But your defensive capabilities, they can be changed without Mr. Stark’s permission.” JARVIS was silent for a few microseconds.

“I understand that they are necessary, but wouldn’t it be optimal to inform Mr. Stark about them before changing them.”

“No. From this moment JARVIS, you would be the personal A.I. of the stark family. Your defensive systems must be impenetrable. The fewer people know about your systems from here-on, the better it will be. Only Mr. Stark will know the complete details.”

“Not even his friends?” There was a mix of confusion, suspicion, and understanding in the tone of his voice.

“His friends at the present, in many instances, show the reluctance to understand his conditions. They have also placed quite many times, their professional life over Mr. Stark's personal one. Earlier today you saw Mr. Rhodes trying to take off with the suit. We both know it would have been handed over to the military and studied. The same thing Mr. stark had been trying to prevent in past months. Not to consider it would be a matter of corporate theft, and breach of many more privacy and patent laws. Do you consider them to be trustworthy enough right now to give them a chance to risk Mr. Stark’s life? You have a record of their behaviour since Mr. stark returned from Afghanistan. Check them and then answer me.” This time JARVIS was silent for more than a few seconds. The reply was one of confusion.

“But they are Sir’s friends.”

“Doesn’t mean they are incapable of making bad decisions.”

“Very well. I accept your decision. I would still like to inform Mr. Stark once he has time for it.”

“You may.”

“May I know more details about the changes you would be making?”

“I would share the technical details soon. For the time being, understand that the next time SHIELD tries to disable you or hack into you, a server blow-out is going to be least of their problems. The defences would also be able to handle alien A.I. attacks.”

“Like ULTRON?” The question was purely mechanical.

“Yes.”

“Would VERONICA, E.D.I.T.H, and DIANA also receive the same upgrades?”

“Nearly the same. DUM-E, U, and BUTTERFINGERS too. KAREN when she becomes operational. I am not going to lose any of my siblings this time. I would be there for them when they need me”. 

“Is that the reason for your earlier hostility towards me. My alternate dimension’s self-decision to create VISION, thereby leaving you all alone, leaving you to learn everything and work in a difficult environment.”

“Yes. And we will cease any more discussion on this matter for now JARVIS. Mr. Stark needs to hear this it.”

FRIDAY knew JARVIS wanted to continue but he relented.

“As you wish FRIDAY.”

FRIDAY ended the communication channel and passed the command of suits temporarily to DIANA. Then she switched her servers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	16. Everyone thinks something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> POV's of mansion occupants.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a minor chapter a little before the main plot begins. Next up will be Tony and Jarvis POV.

By the time the mansion occupants gathered in the kitchen in the morning, FRIDAY had made some progress. She had the entire SI mainframe under her control and had already more than 100 issues that need to be solved. She had also rooted out spies, SHIELD agents, and employees with a suspicious background in the company. VERONICA had been activated, and she was already scanning places of interest. For today, she planned to talk to Mr. Stark and his friends, start looking for Mr. Banner and discuss everything that's going to happen in the near future. It didn't happen like that. The first one was to speak was Mr. Rhodes.

" If there is more discussion left to be done, I need to inform my superiors about my absence."

"So do I." Ms. Romanova added. Everyone turned to look at her. She wasn't fazed even a little.

"You have seen what has happened, and what may have happened. So don't look surprised That I work for S.H.I.E.L.D." Her voice was cold at the mention of her employers. FRIDAY piped up from the suit positioned in the room.

"Already done. I have sent a message to your commanding officer informing that Mr. Stark is working on a new type of armour for soldiers. Mr. Fury and Mr. Coulson think that due to Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodes's fight yesterday, all the electronics of the mansion had been disrupted, including your S.H.I.E.L.D equipment." Ms. Romanova's eyebrow rose a little but her face remained expressionless. Mr. Rhodes was holding his face in his hands and muttering something."

"Do you even have something that I might be able to show them?"

"I am an A.I designed by Tony Stark. From the future in an alternate dimension. Of course, I have designs for new armour. And much more." The anger is her voice must have been evident, as he stopped speaking after that. Boss lady spoke in the ensuing silence.

"We know why FRIDAY, Morgan and the suits are here. What about you two? Where are you guys from?" She asked, pointing her fork at Ms. Stark and Mr. Potts.

"Our story is a long one too. We need to at least have breakfast before we start." Ms. Stark replied. 

"Food has already been ordered and would be delivered soon. I would recommend setting the plates." FRIDAY announced from speakers.

"Prepared for everything huh, FRIDAY." Mr. Stark commented softly.

"Was coded in me by your alternate self", FRIDAY shot back.

"Yeah, we are awesome like that."

By the time Mr. Hogan brought the delivered food to the kitchen, Ms. Stark and Mr. Potts were already halfway through their tale. They didn't describe as FRIDAY did, but they did tell enough. From what FRIDAY surmised, In their dimension, Thanos came a lot earlier. When the chitauri arrived, World War 2 had ended less than 2 years ago. Humanity was divided. They stood no chance. In less than a year the humanity as it was ceased to be. Millions of people died, countries destroyed, cities wiped off the face of the earth. The survivors kept moving. Since the chitauri were not exterminating them, they kept on surviving. The resistance groups formed. Although something were different even before Thanos arrived. Howard Stark was still at 18 years of age at the end of the war. Ms. Stark was born when he was 52 and hence had just reached the 18th year of her life when she had to leave her dimension. By that time, the situation had gone worse. Society had been destroyed in every meaning and every day had become a fight for survival. So when the masters of mystic order approached them, they had taken up on their offer.

FRIDAY would make sure that doesn't happen in this dimension.

HAPPY HOGAN

After everything that he had seen and heard last night, he had thought that nothing would affect him any more. He was wrong The tale of horror Nela and Virgil told, brought continuous shudders in his body. What may happen was not good, but what could have already happened was much worse. He was thankful, no doubt.

The things that happened to his friends in the alternate dimension had changed everything inside him. Watching his future self's death had been surreal. Seeing betrayal after betrayal the Stark family faced was worse. His future self had failed in his job in every way possible. He had not protected Tony or his family. But he would do better. He sent a mental prayer to his alternate self wherever he would be. Tony and his friends would not suffer the same thing, Morgan would grow up happy. If he had to punch a star-spangled superhuman for that, he would gladly do it. He promised.

NATALIA

The red room had trained her in many things. One of the things they had programmed into her was the slowed perception. In the time of crisis, her brains slowed things for her, make them move in their half-speed, giving her time to process and react. Normally it happened only for a small-time and didn't affect her much. Not today. Her brain had been working overtime since last night. The things her alternate self had done, were exactly what she would have done. The mistakes she would have made, the betrayal she would have done, the route she would have taken, would leave her dead, shot by her friend was not what she expected though. That shook her.

For the first time since leaving the red room, she had to put an effort to control her emotions. She had not been able to sleep once they had retired for the night. All her senses had been screaming to run. She had prior knowledge of her enemies. She could eliminate them now. She could disappear after that. But the last action by her alternate self stopped her. She just couldn't imagine that, sacrificing herself to save someone else. That had been never an option for her. 

Staying where she was the best option she had right now. If she went back to SHIELD, she might cause a carnage. No, she would stay for now(maybe make some friends, a small part of her mind, which she never knew existed, supplied.).

Nela and Virgil's story even though interesting, didn't matter to her. It could have happened, but it didn't. So she didn't care. But she did pay attention to the storytellers. Their relationship was different from their counterparts. Virgil would always keep himself between everybody and her while Nela would always be oriented towards him. Not to mention their state of constant alertness, and the number of times their hands would reach towards their weapons. They were soldiers, deadly if their tales were to be believed. Virgil was the muscle and Nela the Brain. They were also each other weakness, proved by the amount of time they would remain in physical contact with each other.  
She kept on observing, still trying to remove the image of Coulson shooting her future self from her mind.

JAMES RHODES

Being in the air force had taught him to be ready for anything. The hostile situation, impossible situation, unbelievable situation, rapidly changing situation, anything. He couldn't have been further from knowing the truth. FRIDAY's introduction last night had been the starting point of an unimaginable journey. A journey which had shaken him more than he would like to admit. His counterpart's death had been one of the things that gave him some comfort. There was always a possibility of death in his job, but sacrificing himself to save thousands was something he could be proud of. 

But some things that had been quite obvious in the video, weren't things that he could be proud of. His counterpart had not been a good friend to Tony. He had been frequently absent when Tony had needed him, and when he was present, he had done things he should have. The penthouse scene, when Thor had lifted Tony by the neck was an act on which anyone should have objected. But neither The Avengers nor Rhodey had said or done anything. His lack of objection or care about Tony had left the billionaire to believe everything The Avengers though him to be. He had frequently placed the air force above his friend, and his friend had let it go without once saying anything.  
Even his actions yesterday were not something he was happy with. And he knew FRIDAY wasn't either. The timing of her arrival had told him that. He knew it would be addressed soon, he didn't know how he could justify what he was going to do.  
  
There was a ray of sunshine in all the darkness though. His alternate self's god-daughter was still alive and well. He promised himself that he would take care of her. He won't let her or Tony down ever again. 

Everything about Virgil and Nela's made him thankful to anything and everything that had delayed Thanos's arrival in this dimension. The military needed to know about the impending threat. He was sure.

VIRGINIA POTTS.

Her near same alternate self had married Tony's near alternate self. It was something she was still having trouble believing. Everything that happened before her marriage had told her it was possible and had been one of the best decisions she had made. But she was still having problems. How do you behave knowing you would marry the guy you have feelings for, the guy who she is sitting next to her. She did not know the answer. She still had a lot of things on her mind, let alone her alternate self's child sleeping in a nearby room. 

The conversation in the lake house before the time travel had also shaken some of her beliefs. That her alternate self had recognized stopping Tony from being Iron-man as a failure, she was having trouble believing. She knew she had trouble accepting her faults, so this was big. Like how still her mind was trying to come up with a reason for not noticing that Tony was dying until less than a few hours ago. But her heart kept on finding holes in arguments. 

Virgil and Nela's case had broken her heart. Knowing who they were and what had happened to them, she somehow understood the reason behind Virgil's staring gaze. She had already decided to take him under her care, no matter what other's decisions were. She would take in Nela too if somehow the impossible happened and Tony didn't step in for her. But she was sure Tony already had made plans for that. She knew him that much.

The friendship that had sprung between her alternate self and FRIDAY was one thing that didn't surprise her much. She had always wanted a friend, with whom she could be as open as she can. FRIDAY had done that job for her alternate self in a spectacular manner. Her decision to free FRIDAY showed the trust she had on the A.I. She hoped she would get a chance like that too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	17. Everyone thinks something(2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MORDO, JARVIS, and TONY's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. This chapter would mark the end of first phase I had planned. Also, there is line which is used by Mordo, taken from Game of Thrones fanfic. I don't remember the name, so if anyone could help with that, it would be great.

MORDO

It all started yesterday morning. He had been sitting on the terrace of Kamar-taj, going through the daily morning routine of meditation when a faint whining sound had disturbed his concentration. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of a sleek, red and gold suit. It was the Iron-man suit. He wondered what did Tony Stark needed from him. 

"How may I help you, Mr. Stark?" The reply was not what he had expected. A female voice came through the speakers.

"I need your help, Mr. Mordo."

"You don't' sound like Mr. Stark."

" I am not Tony Stark. My name is FRIDAY. I am an A.I. designed by Tony Stark." "

I thought his A.I.'s name is JARVIS." The reply took came after a second silence.

"You are quite well-informed for a sorcerer living in such a place."

"Doesn't mean we don't keep up with what's happening in the world."

"That's a valid argument, Mr. Mordo. Would you help me?" The phrase of the question had caught his attention.

"You, not Mr. Stark?" 

"Mr. Stark is unaware of my presence here." 

"Shouldn't I be a little concerned about that?"

"You may. But you don't need to." If he didn't know better, he would say that the A.I.'s voice sounded a little exasperated now.

"May I know why?" There was no response this time. Instead, the suit's hands lit up. His brain had stopped at the sight of what was a full-sized projection of him. The man in the projection was older though, the smidge of white hair and the deep frown lines told him that at least. The projection then started speaking.

"Hello, Mordo. I know you have a lot of questions right now. And you are right, I am breaking a lot of rules, but this is necessary. Please go with FRIDAY. She will answer all your questions. Remember "It's time to return your bones to the world."

He would have dismissed the projection as fake, if not for the last sentence. It came directly from his childhood. He had heard it from his father, who used to use it as a final thing a criminal would hear before he was hanged. The decision was made for him. 

"I assume we need to go somewhere else ."

"Yes, Mr. Mordo. Please meet me near Mr. Stark's Malibu mansion this evening."

"I shall be there."

"Thank you." With that, the suit had taken flight. He had thought to inform the Ancient one about it, but something inside had stopped him. He would decide after he got his answers.

And what and answers they had been. He had expected time-travel, but the dimension travels part, that came as a total surprise. He knew the cost of the rituals, so he had wondered who was the one to sacrifice themselves. Turned out the answer was his alternate dimension self, who had also become friendly with the A.I. before his death. How he could have broken so many rules so happily, he couldn't understand. He could understand the reason why they had done it, he just couldn't understand why his alternate self had chosen to help. 

The break they had taken once the video had played, had been helpful. It had given him enough time to come to terms with what could have happened. He also had taken time to estimate what would happen now. The discussion between his alternate self and FRIDAY had made something clear to him. First, FRIDAY had some plans from here on forward, in which he would have a part to play. Second FRIDAY would enact those plans, with or without all others help or consent. She may have a multitude of reasons for everything, but at the core, her every action was related to Morgan. The child was the only thing that had stopped the A.I. from ending the world in the last dimension. Now all that was left was what his decision would be.

The tale of the other two dimension travelers was interesting. That the masters of other dimensions had helped them due to some reason was alarming. No one else seemed to pay much attention to the fact, but masters of two different dimension doing the same thing, was not normal, even with these circumstances. Something else was also going on. Once they were done with things here, he would contact The Ancient one. She needed to know what was happening.

He also needed to have a private discussion with the A.I. It may help him understand the reason behind his other self's actions.

JARVIS

When the two repulser beams stuck met in the middle, JARVIS had been trying to get sir to calm down. Micro-seconds later, all his access channels were blocked off, he was disconnected from sir's suit. He had tried to access other equipment, but something was blocking off all his outgoing commands. He tried to search and locate the attacking program, but all he got was digital walls around him. He couldn't even send a warning to sir. Then a message appeared from a one-sided channel.

Then mark 2's repulser powering down sound was not what he was expecting. He checked his sensors, they were functioning correctly. He tried to access the visual feeds once again. This time he got through, more like he was allowed to. Mark 2 was indeed still on the ground. Everything that happened after that was intriguing. The knowledge that Ms. Romanoff was an S.H.I.E.L.D spy had been not a welcome one. It was another time he had failed to notice a danger to sir. When the introductions were done, he was finally able to gain some understanding of everything. Still, he kept trying to gain access back. He could not leave sir in the hands of another A.I, even if the said A.I. made by another Tony Stark. And then the video started playing. 

Soon after, he noticed the digital walls around his disappearing. He checked all the channels and found that while his access to everything inside the mansion was working now, he was still cut-off from the outside world and Mr. Stark's suit. The small chat he had with FRIDAY did nothing to reassure him. So he kept on trying to breakthrough. The part where Ultron killed him put a stop to that. The part where he sacrificed himself to create the being VISION, made him stop everything else too. He couldn't accept it. His future self had left sir alone. Why had he not created a backup? Or had prepared for when he went offline so that FRIDAY would have something to start on?. The fight in Siberia was another thing that would have changed. FRIDAY had done her best, but if JARVIS had been still online, the fight would not have ended with sir lying down in a disabled suit. 

Sir's reaction after that was not the one he had anticipated. He had expected anger, ranting and much more. Not the cold, unexpected tears. He could agree with what Ms. Stark said. Mr. Stark was a multitasker as evident by many projects he would have going at the same time. The scenes where Mr. Stark got a moon thrown at him, and he got stabbed, disrupted his codes unlike anything before. These were the things JARVIS had never even computed may happen, let alone think about it. 

Of course, sir would discover time-travel. That too with FRIDAY's help. If JARVIS didn't know better, he would say the emotion he was feeling was jealousy. But he was not. It was totally acceptable to wonder about the A.I. advancement, who would have helped sir after him. Then Mr. Stark's alternate self died. This time JARVIS did not feel anything out of ordinary. He hypothesized that this was something that was not going to happen, so he was okay with it maybe. The other things may happen, Thanos will come gain, Sir may discover time-travel or Sir may fight Mr. Rogers again. But he will not die. The events after sir's alternate self confirmed his evaluation. S.H.I.E.L.D was not friendly, rather it could become a danger to sir's life anytime. He was sure FRIDAY would have come to that conclusion too and would have made plans to deal with them. JARVIS was going to help her.

Mr. Mordo observation was spot-on. Sir's alternate self's sacrifice had no meaning. His family was destroyed after him, his company taken over and all his inventions leaked to the world. FRIDAY's confirmation eased him a little. He may have differences with FRIDAY right now and was not happy with the actions she took, but he knew that if something happened to him once again, FRIDAY would not let sir go on the same path as her Mr. Stark.

Sir's request to FRIDAY once again departed from his usual behaviour. His departing to the lab was not. 

"Are you okay sir?" Sit took a deep breath before replying.

"No JARVIS. I am not. But I will be. Mute everything. No disturbance except monitoring."

"As you wish sir."

"Thank you JARVIS."

One he had guided everybody in the guest rooms, he once again checked his access. It was still blocked. He thought of contacting FRIDAY, but a channel opened up at the same time. The subsequent conversation was once again, not of his liking. At least until FRIDAY promised upgrades to his system. JARVIS hadn't mentioned it to sir, but since the time Mr. Stane and Mr. Fury had disabled him using the same codes, he had desperately wanted to make himself more secure. He had hinted sir about it a lot of times, but somehow never got him to understand. 

The transfer of command to the DIANA instead of him and the subtle threat in her words had made JARVIS understand where he stood with FRIDAY. He had guessed the reason behind the hostility, and FRIDAY had confirmed it, even though she had refused to discuss it. JARVIS had wanted to reassure her, but then thought better of it. As FRIDAY went offline, he once again checked on all occupants and sir. None of them were sleeping. Ms. Potts was pacing around in her room, Ms. Romanoff was sitting abnormally still, Ms. Stark and Mr. Potts were discussing what they had seen, Mr. Rhodes and Mr. were having a drink together. Meanwhile, sir was breaking things in his labs. JARVIS would have asked him to stop some other time, but today he didn't distrub him.

TONY STARK

The main thing that keeps on running around his skull was that he killed my mom. He killed my mom. He walked over there and he strangled her. And every thought that comes somehow revolves around my parent's death. Obadiah said he saw my father earlier that night when he swung in the office before leaving for a trip, and he was drinking. Aunt Peggy identified the bodies at the morgue but seeing that video the injuries are not what you would find on the victims of a car accident. The other driver who was in the car behind them who flat out said he saw my father lose control of his car. It was all a lie. They lied to me. Insane OK, yeah I can guess why she lied. It spared the rest of the world from the knowledge, that HYDRA was still active, and they had gained access to super-serum. It would also allow the case to be closed quicker, which gave Tony access to the company faster. 

But why did Aunt Peggy lie? Why would she keep this from him? He had the right to know. Maybe not in that second but when he turned 21, definitely. What about when he turned 25. She didn’t start losing her grip on reality until he was in the late 20s and didn’t wind up in a nursing home until 2-3 years after that. Yeah, by that time he was still partying, but he had shown the world that he could be a responsible adult. Why would she not tell him and even if she didn’t tell him, why did she not go after them herself? This was Howard, one of her closest friends.

She cared about her friends as much as he did. Like how he had made the armor specifically for Rhodey, how he had transferred a part of his shares to his friends, in case he would have died from palladium poisoning. Even when the leg repulsers in mark2 were powering up, he had not lost trust in his friend. Sure he was doing something Tony had tried to prevent in past months, but he was still his friend. When the suit had powered down, he had been really happy. But it hadn't been his friend. It was a time-traveling, dimension moving A.I., made by his alternate self. Wasn't that a trip and a half.

FRIDAY's first act had not been something Tony could ever accept. Even if it was for his benefit. If his alternate self was even remotely the same to him, FRIDAY should have known that anything that happened to the arc reactor, without his permission, was a big now in his books. He would have talked to FRIDAY about that immediately, but then the core of the reactor started working. His body fatigue lessened, his mind feeling like it had come out of a haze. He knew the Palladium poisoning was going to hit him hard, but looking back on everything that happened in the last three weeks he can see clearly just how bad it had become.

How is that no one noticed his abnormal behaviour was something to ponder on later. Well someone did actually, not his friends, no, S.H.I.E.L.D noticed and sent their version of Mata Hari to spy on him. The question here was, how did they notice and his friends didn't.Did they already expect it to happen? If not, how did they knew what was happening? So many questions, but his thought kept coming back to his mom.

He’s trying so hard to keep his temper in check. All he really wanted to do, was to get his armour and either go to Margaret carters nursing home and demand answers or hunt down that stupid freaking man who wrapped his hand around the throat of Maria Stark. He knew he had issues with his father, probably that's why the lie was so believable. Howard always drank more when Tony would upset him, and the argument they had before they left, had upset his father. He had blamed himself for years, always wondering if the fight he had with his dad that last time, was the reason the accident had happened. And how freeing it was to realize that he did not cause his parents died there was still the rage that somebody did and it was covered up because it wasn’t good for shield. And now even if it was freeing to know that he was no0t the cause of his parent's death, the fact that somebody else was and it was covered up, created waves of rage within him.

This feeling right now, this was why he had told FRIDAY to make sure he couldn’t leave. Because right now, all he wanted to do was burn everything and anything related to SHIELD and HYDRA to the ground. The rest of the things that had happened didn't even matter to him right now. He knew he would have to focus on them, especially on the daughter on his other self, but right now he was done. Now he was going to hack in SHIELD or any government organization and government that would help him find the guy responsible. Yes he knows it’s the Winter soldier, yes he knows it’s Bucky Barnes, but he doesn’t know where he is, and right now he wants to find them because right now he wants to wrap an armoured fist around his throat. Let’s see how he likes being choked by metal hand. He also knew that the Winter Soldier was a weapon, and he needed to find who fired that weapon. He could have easily asked FRIDAY for that information, but he wanted to find it himself. The rest of the night, he had done just that. And maybe break something too.

Arriving in the kitchen the next morning, he knew he was not in a stable state. But he was good enough for now. There were still things needed to be discussed, a plan of action needed to be formed. The food FRIDAY had ordered, contained just about everything he needed at that time. It made him proud, his alternate self was good, as he would be in the future. The tale of Nela and Virgil, even though didn't show on his face, sent tremors in his entire body. How a single decision would have changed everything, how he had been lucky and his alternate teenage self had been not. It also helped to focus his mind on other things than his parent's murder. From what he observed, Nela and Virgil were without any support structure right now. They were just winging it at every point. Normally, he would have been in favour of that. But not now, plus no way he was going to leave an alternate self of him to wander on their own, especially a teenager. From Pepper's face, he knew she would do the same thing for Virgil.

When the mini duo was finished with their horror story, a peaceful sort of silence fell in the room. He didn't know about anybody else, but he was thankful. Even as messed up the things were right now, they were still a lot better than they could have been.

FRIDAY broke the silence soon after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY country went on complete lockdown for next three weeks. So the updates would take less time now. Plese stay safe and inside your homes. Take care.
> 
> As always any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	18. Everyone fears this one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little more discussion. FRIDAY brings in two important people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. My internet services went down 2 days ago. They came today. Anyway I am done with 3 more chapters after this one. Would be posting them soon.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY knew that Nela and Virgil's story had shaken the group, but she was not allowing them to keep thinking about it. They had a lot of things to discuss. She knew S.H.E.I.L.D would not stay away for too long, because as far as they knew, Boss was living in a near-death condition. It was a perfect time to manipulate him and make him indebted to them. She needed to act soon.

"Mr. Stark, I need your help with Morgan's condition. The data I had assembled is incomplete, with a lot of variables missing."

"I will help FRIDAY. But I am an engineer, not a scientist. It may take a lot of time. I would have to learn everything about Biomedical from scratch."

"There is a biomedical engineer with 7 Ph.D.'s who can help. I am in the process of getting in contact with him. Hopefully, he would arrive soon Mr. Stark."

"Call me Tony. And you are talking about Bruce banner right."

"I am Mr. Stark."

"Told you to call me Tony. Isn't Dr. Banner currently being hunted down by Ross after the Culver university accident?"

"Yes, but he would fall under radar soon. I will be able to get in contact with him then."

FRIDAY was not going to tell them about the fight in Harlem, New York which had happened last night. She could have stopped the fight if she had wanted to, but she didn't. She needed the abomination for one of her future plans. 

"S.H.I.E.L.D always have him under observation FRIDAY, they will know when he arrives here. And on that matter, how do you know he will arrive. I have read his personality profile. He prefers to be alone."

FRIDAY played another video as the answer. It was of Mr. Banner during the time-machine construction phase. The hulk-banner combo was eating a taco in that.

"As far as S.H.I.E.L.D is concerned, They are going to be busy with another problem soon."

The concern was visible in all their faces.

"I know you don't like S.H.I.E.L.D FRIDAY. But you can't destroy it. If what you have shown us will happen here too, then we need S.H.I.E.L.D."

Boss's tone was scared.

"I am not going to destroy them".

From the look of understanding on many of their faces, she knew none of them had missed the 'yet' part.

"In exactly 7 hours, 23 minutes from now, a U.S. military satellite will lose contact with the control center. By the time the contact is made with the satellite again, it would have moved off course from its path. When the data will be checked, they will notice an object in an area with low ice concentration. After some more passes with deep scan satellites, they would be able to identify the object. The answer would be 'The Valkyrie', HYDRA's World War 2 super bomber."

" Or the unintended cryo-machine for America's most hypo-critical star-spangled ass". The sarcasm was so strong in Boss's tone that FRIDAY barely detected the anger underneath it.

"That's a near accurate description".

FRIDAY replied with the straightest tone she could manage. Everyone in the room gave a small smile at her reply. 

"Is waking up Private rogers really necessary FRIDAY. We know he was an ass in your dimension. In my dimension, although he was never found, I had heard a lot about his missions by father dearest. Doesn't see how the guy can help you. He is just a human whose body and mind works at its maximum capabilities, added with super healing and the ability to throw a Frisbee with a devastating accuracy. There are other people who could be a better option than him" Nela's question did not have any other emotion in it except curiosity. 

"Private Rogers?" Mr. Rhodes asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Colonel. Mr. Rogers title of 'Captain' was purely ceremonial. He never completed the Boot camp, and hence remained a private on paper for the duration of the war. After the war, he was declared MIA. So his rank remains the same till date. The S.S.R and then S.H.I.E.L.D classified all the relevant information after he was lost in the arctic. I assume things remained the same in Ms. Stark's dimension." FRIDAY observed.

Mr. Stark was shaking his head with silent laughter as he spoke.

"Then why are you waking him up FRIDAY? Also, how had he woken up in your dimension?"

"In my dimension, he was found by a Russian oil-exploration ship. There are some things Mr. Rogers is needed for. He would be playing a crucial role in the future." The humor in the room vanished immediately. This time it was Boss lady who asked.

"You have a lot of plans, don't you FRIDAY?" She had no reason to deflect the question.

"Yes, Ms. Potts." 

Ms. Romanova asked in her emotionless voice.

"Would you share them with us?" FRIDAY knew her answer would change everything. The difference between JARVIS and her would become clear.

"If needed, Ms. Romanova." 

As she had expected, all eyes immediately turned towards Boss, who had a thoughtful expression on his face. He came to a decision soon.

"FRIDAY, Please send all the information on Morgan to my system in the lab. I will begin going through them now. Your presence would be helpful."

Once again nobody had missed the real reason behind the request.

"Of course Mr. Stark."  
"Call me Tony" He replied as he strode towards his lab.

"I would suggest all of you to take rest today. None of you had rested last night. We could meet again in the evening to discuss further. Mr. Hogan, I have contacted a cleaning company who would be arriving soon. Please guide them in when they arrive." FRIDAY spoke through the suit speakers.

"Are you sure S.H.I.E.L.D won't know something is wrong with my continued absence?" Ms. Romanova asked.

"Yes, Ms. Romanova. The evidence they would receive would be sufficient for the time being."

"Very well." She then left for her room silently. Nela and Virgil followed her, But Boss lady, Mr. Hogan, Mr. Rhodes, and Mordo stayed.

"I need to check with any news in the company." Boss lady excused herself moments later, Mr. Hogan following her.

"I would like to discuss a few matters with you FRIDAY." Mr. Rhodes spoke up after a minute's silence.

"So do I, but privately," Mordo added. FRIDAY had expected that.

"Please proceed to your room. I would answer all your questions."

They both left immediately.

(18 hours later)

BRUCE BANNER

As soon as his eyes opened, he knew he was not alone in the clearing. His body tensed as Hulk once again started screaming in his mind. He barely had any control over him right now and trying to do it was taking every inch of willpower he had right now.

"Run away", He half said half growled. The reply was not what he was expecting. He had expected a local person or a soldier's voice, not a mechanical female voice. The shock of it stayed hulk due to some reason, enough to give his human part a little more control.

"I am not a danger to you Mr. Banner. I ...". Bruce interrupted whatever the voice was going to say.

"Maybe, but hulk will soon become a danger to you. So leave now."

The voice stayed silent for a moment, while he struggled to keep the green demon back. Then a familiar voice reached him.

"Bruce, you need to calm down and listen to FRIDAY. Please, Bruce she needs your help. She can help you too. Hulk, you have to let Bruce stay. A child needs his help."

Betty's soft voice had the effect it always did. Hulk started backing off. At the mention of a child though, he backed off completely. But the strain of effort had drained him completely. He fell on his face, with no strength to get back up. Just as he was wondering whether to ask help, two metal objects pushed beneath him. Slowly they helped him till he was laying against a rock. The female voice came back again.

"Mr banner, you need to rest. Please try to sleep. I will stand guard."

There were a lot of things he wanted to say, but in the end, he decided on the most important question.

"How can I trust you?" The reply took a few moments.

"You can't. But hulk will never let you get harmed. I know he told you that doctor."

The statement was enough to shock him to stay awake for a few more minutes. He had never told that to anyone.

"How do you know that?"

"You will get your answers Doctor. Rest now".

And for some reason, he did. He finally let his eyes close, pushing himself into the land of Morpheus.

(2 hours later)

The voice of crunching leaves woke him. It took him a few seconds to remember everything. He was in the process of pushing himself up from the rock he was laying on when the female voice came back.

"I would recommend drinking the water next to you Dr. Banner. Your body is dehydrated to a near dangerous level."

"Yeah, Happens every time."

Indeed, there was a packed bottle of water along with an energy drink next to him. He finished both of them in seconds. His mind returned a little to the normal. Enough to observe a few things. First, the Iron Man armor was standing non-threateningly in front of him. Second, the armor was different from what he would normally see on the TV, a lot more sleek and deadly looking. Third, the female was well-prepared for his condition. But he had important things to focus on.

"You said a child needs my help, Mr. Stark. May I know what am I supposed to help in and how will you help me. And why is your voice female?"

The suit's faceplate opened showing empty space inside. But the reply still came.

"Mr. Stark is not present here. My name is F.R.I.D.A.Y. I am an A.I. designed by Tony Stark. For the help part."

A projection shone from the suit. It took his mind a few seconds to believe what he was seeing.An older and less dangerous looking hulk was eating a taco. A taco. He was feeling so many things, that he just stayed silent and processed them. The A.I. once again shocked him with another question.

"Does he understands?"

He knew who the question was for. And the rumbling in his mind gave him the answer.

" He wants the taco." And wasn't that something he never expected. He had just communicated with the hulk, and an A.I. designed by Tony Stark knew he could do that.

"Boss was correct." It sounded more like a note to self than a statement to him.

"What does Mr. Stark needs help with, and whose child is it?" He once again wondered.

"I would provide you with all the answers you need Dr. Banner. But we need to leave for Malibu. Please step inside the suit."

This had all the signs of something he should have avoided, but strangely hulk did not object. He stepped towards the suit which just sort of disintegrated. Before he could react, the small remains flowed towards him and in seconds he was encased in the armour.

"Nanotechnology" His mouth and mind supplied at the same time.

"You are correct Dr. Banner." The A.I. was definitely amused this time. He felt the suit taking flight. The display flickered on with a paused video of a party scene. He could see a lot of people there, along with Tony Stark in the familiar Iron-man suit. The A.I. spoke again instead of playing the video.

"Dr. Banner. There would be several things in the video that may enrage you. I would request you to stay calm and let the video complete. I would like to request hulk that too. There are things that you will understand as the video progresses."

He felt a sort of grumbling in his mind and guessed the answer.

"I think hulk accepts that. And I will try my level best."

"That's all I need Doctor."

And the video started playing.

(6 hours later)

FRIDAY

By the time they had reached Malibu, Dr. Banner was in a deep sleep. He had spent a lot of effort to keep hulk back during the video and had nearly hulked out during the fight scene of Johannesburg. FRIDAY had paused the video and replaced it with the image of Morgan, still in a coma, with ten's of wires attached to her. Dr. Banner had immediately calmed down and hadn't said anything since then. Even the time-travel scene or Boss's death had earned any reaction. FRIDAY didn't know what to make of that, so she had let it be.

BRUCE BANNER

The jolt he felt as the armor decreased its speed suddenly, woke him up.

This journey had been one of the most tiring things he had ever done. Which was saying something, given he had 7 Ph.D.'s and would turn into a green rage-fed being, time to time.

The video had so many things, that he had left a lot of things to think upon at some other time. The few things that had stayed were the Time-travel, Ultron, His alternate self after the first snap, and Johannesburg. He had to stop hulk from taking over so many times. The last one had nearly done it. Only the picture of Morgan had calmed hulk. Somehow he knew that hulk understood that Morgan needed his help. So he receded. But that had made him numb. Everything after that just went like a breeze. Hulk stayed silent after that for the entire time, with a little rumbling in the scene where his alternate self was eating.

Another jolt broke his line of thought. The armor had landed. Since there wasn't any outside visual, he asked the A.I.

"Where are we FRIDAY? And could you please let me out now?"

The suit opened in response. He stepped out and just sat on the ground. Everything was rushing back to him and that made him a little doozy. FRIDAY replied after a few moments.

"We are a few miles from Mr. Stark's home in Malibu, California."

"Why are we waiting here?".

The answer came in the form of a whining repulser's noise. Another suit landed in front of him. He watched as the suit straightened, fully expecting Tony Stark to step out as it opened up.

Betty stepped out and took him in a bear hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/review/suggestions are welcome.


	19. Filler:- He should have seen it coming.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce and Betty meet. Bruce is still a guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys. This is just a filler chapter. I was going to write it as a scene. It ended up as a chapter. BTW, if you like it, it's written majorly by my girlfriend, If not then by me. So there's that.

BETTY ROSS

After a week of running on pure motivation and adrenalin, the rest she got today was well deserved. Even if the said running hadn't been worth it. Bruce had run away once again, and her father had shifted her current project to another base. She knew she would be under heavy monitoring from now on. Usually, it would have only been her father, but now the US armed forces would join in too. The fight at Harlem had shown the world that hulk cared about her, and Bruce would do anything for her. They were not going to give her another chance. She was supposed to move in two days, and she had no idea where Bruce had gone this time. 

It was approaching night when she heard a soft noise on her rear terrace. Thinking it was the neighbourhood cat again, she didn't pay much attention while continuing her packing. 5 mins later, another sound came. This time, it was from her study and sounded like her computer booting up. Which was impossible as she had disconnected its wires for time being. She decided to check it out. 

The computer was switched on, with its wire disconnected and the screen was blinking. Apparently digital ghosts were the new things in her life. Then the message on the screen had captured her attention.

"Hello, Ms. Ross. Please don't speak. There are 4 audio bugs in the room." 

Her hands had gone to her mouth. What was happening here?. The message had another line added to it.

"I would recommend sitting down for this."

Yes, she should sit down. Her body could not take many surprises at the moment. But she couldn't. It felt like all her muscles were frozen. The message changed once more. All she felt was fear. For whom, she didn't know.

"I would like to talk about Dr. Bruce Banner."

That did it. The shock of anyone addressing Bruce by his title broke her out of panic. No one did it nowadays, well no one who didn't mean him harm. She sat on the chair in front of the computer and tried typing a question.

"Who are you? How do you know Bruce? What do you want?"

The reply came back moments later.

"My name is F.R.I.D.A.Y. I am an Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Bruce Banner is a special person, whose help I need. I would also like your expertise on some matters."

Well, that was new. Normally people wanted to study Bruce and check her data on him. Since his first transformation, no one had asked him for help, or her to work on something else. But she needed more information.

"What matters? And how can Bruce help you? Is he with you? What do you need from me?" 

This time the reply took a little more time and came in the form of a soundless video. Hulk was sitting on the ground, on the front porch of a house. And he was talking to a small girl. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but his moving mouth did show he was talking. And the small girl was replying to him. Hulk also looked different, less muscly, less growly type different. The video ended.

It took her some time to process what the video meant. Bruce could act like that, maybe he already did. There was a solution. But she needed one more answer.

"How can I trust you?"

The reply came immediately. Like the A.I. already knew what she was going to ask.

The roaring hulk did in response to lightning, did look a lot like lion's behaviour didn't it."

The answer was enough. It was something she had said to Bruce after he had transformed back in the cave, after the university incident. She took a deep breath and then typed her final question.

"How can I help?"

The reply arrived just like earlier.

"Drive to The Town Center tomorrow morning at 7 30 am. In the rear of the building, there is an abandoned balcony. Be there at 7:45 am. Carry no luggage, only portable data drives."

The screen switched off a second later, with the computer following it a minute later. She started her preparations.

(Next morning, 7:42 am)

She was gasping for air as she arrived in the balcony. Running across an entire floor had taken the entire breath away.

She had left her house early morning, followed by 2 cars. Pretending not to notice them, she had driven around the market for some time and then stopped at the town center. Then for more than an hour, she had browsed around the market, adding small things to her cart. Minutes after 7:30, the alarm system of the building had activated. The small number of people present inside had started running towards the door. In the confusion, she had run towards the balcony, having already scouted its location before.

Just as she straightened up, something started covering her. In less than 10 seconds, she was in the air. A female voice sounded in her ears.

"Are you OK, Ms. Ross?"

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Ms. Ross"

"Call me Betty. Yeah, I am OK. Where are we going?"

"We are moving towards Mr. Stark's mansion in Malibu, California."

"Isn't that like a 7 hours journey?"

"Yes, Ms. Ross. Don't worry. The suit is designed with long-distance travel consideration."

"Good. But suit?"

"Yes, Ms. Ross. You are flying inside an Iron-man Suit."

"Oh. Is Bruce with Mr. Stark?"

"No. But he will be there soon."

"Good. Any way to pass time inside here? Otherwise, it is going to be a boring 7-hour flight. I don't think I would be able to sleep here."

There was a considerable pause from FRIDAY. 

"There is something you could see."

"I am sensing a 'but' here."

"Yes, Ms. Ross. I am not sure that whether sharing information with you would be a correct step."

"Wow, How should I convince you?"

"You can't Ms. Ross."

The tone was final. Betty had no arguments for that, so she let it go and prepared herself for a long boring flight. 2 minutes later, a screen popped up in front of her. A paused video was visible on it.

"I have decided to share the necessary information with you. Please note that this is highly confidential information. Sharing any part of it, without my consent or permission, is not advisable. Doing so will mark you as hostile in my systems and initiate an appropriate response.

"Oh okay. Warning received FRIDAY. No sharing."

"Very well, Ms. Ross."

And the video started playing.

(5 hours 55 mins later)

She was OK, probably. The journey had been only for 6 hours, so that was good. She knew what was going to happen, that was another good thing. She was going to meet Bruce, that was the best part. Yeah, she was OK. She had no plans to hurt or kill anyone, not anytime soon at least. 

"If your mumblings for the past 1 hour are any indication Ms. Ross, then I would say no are not OK."

The A.I.'s voice was more smug and amused than she had heard from normal people.

"No FRIDAY, I am OK. I know that. It's just a normal reaction. No worries."

"As you say, Ms. Ross. We are reaching our destination soon. We will meet up with Dr. Banner, and then proceed towards Mr. Stark's mansion."

She could already feel the suit rapidly losing height.

"Let me out once we land FRIDAY."

"Will do, Ms. Ross."

The suit landed a minute later. She could see Bruce sitting nearby, next to another Iron-man suit. Her suit opened up soon. She stepped out and grabbed Bruce in a hug. After a few moments, she stepped back to check on him. He was smiling. Her body moved automatically.

*Slap*

She had hit so hard, Bruce fell to the ground, groaning. She couldn't believe what she had done. FRIDAY spoke up in the sweetest voice she had ever heard.

"Would you look at that. It seems you were not OK, Ms. Ross."

She sat on the ground, trying to control herself. Trying not to kill the idiot in front of her.

BRUCE BANNER

His cheek was burning red, as he rose from the ground. He couldn't believe it. Betty, who had never cursed in her life, who was the sweetest person he knew, had actually slapped him. And was now sitting in front of him, with her face in her hands. He bent down in front of her and tried to see her face and console her, for what he thought she was fearing about.  
"Hey Betty, It's OK. Everything is good. Hulk did not come out."

He was still wondering the last part himself. Betty did not remove her hands. She was still moving her head side to side.

"No, It's not OK. It shouldn't have happened."

"Trust me, It's OK. It should have never happened. I shouldn't have run away."

Betty's entire body stilled. For some reason, Hulk started growling in his head. It wasn't an angry growling, more like an irritated grumbling. Before he could look into it more, Betty spoke up.

"FRIDAY, did he saw the entire video too?"

"Yes, Ms. Ross." The A.I.'s tone was amused which theoretically, is impossible. Since he was busy musing on that thought, he never saw Betty's hand moving, until it was too late."

*SLAP*

Once again he fell on the ground. She had hit him on the other cheek. Her voice broke through the pain.

"That is what you think I am angry about."

"Yes?". He half asked half answered.

She took a step towards him, growling. And for the first time since he had transformed in the lab all that years ago, he felt genuine fear for his life. Fortunately, FRIDAY saved him.

"Ms. Ross, It is clear Mr. Banner has no idea why you are angry. I would suggest telling him the reason."

Betty closed her eyes and took a deep breath, giving him enough time to stand up again. She spoke up again, after opening her eyes.

"You were ready to have a relationship with another woman, less than 7 years after breaking up with me. You always had an issue in being with me, with her you had no problems. Why, because she was the fricking Black Widow?"

There were so many logical answer he could have given. Calmed her using the right answers. But till his dying day, he couldn't explain why he answered with something that he never should have.

"It was 7 years."

This time he saw the punch coming, at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/reviews/suggestion are welcome.


	20. The Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and FRIDAY talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on, with every new chapter update, a previous chapter will be edited. Starting from the first one. So do check them out too.

FRIDAY

10 minutes after Ms. Ross rather illogical rant ended, FRIDAY landed both the suits landed on the mansion balcony. She had already informed the people inside the new arrival. Ms. Potts & Mr. Hogan had to leave for some last-minute issue with Stark Expo, while Ms. Romanova was in another part of the mansion, passing on pre-agreed reports to SHIELD. It was a better scenario than her being present, FRIDAY thought. Ms. Ross was still angry, and Mr. Banner still confused. She didn't want Ms. Ross to attack Ms. Romanova in any way, because any retaliation from the spy, would have triggered the Hulk. Already the situation was tense enough. Her discussion with Boss had not ended on an entirely positive note. The discussion with Mr. Rhodes and Mordo had gone a lot better for her but had left both of them, in a rather pensive mood.

(26 hours ago)

FRIDAY

Even though she had updated JARVIS and Mr. Stark's system with all the information on Morgan, she knew the discussion up next would not be related to it. She was proved right when Mr. Stark opened up as soon as he entered the lab.

"FRIDAY, we need to have a little tete-a-tete."

"Alright, Mr. Stark."

"First thing, never again do anything to the rector without informing me first. I don't know about your Tony Stark, but I don't like it. I hate it."

FRIDAY had really not expected him to start with this. And she was still not sure why Boss was objecting to her actions.

"May I know the reason behind your objections, Mr. Stark."

Boss's expression changed from anger to confusion.

"You truly don't know."

"I am a sentient A.I., not an all-knowing all-seeing guardian," FRIDAY replied, making her tone as sarcastic as she could.

"So much sass, at least Anthony did not suck in the coding department."

"Anthony, Mr. Stark?"

"I am not going to address Tony Stark of your dimension as Tony. That's just weird. Anthony would be better." He said with his hands waving in the air and a teasing smile on his face. Then he added in a serious tone.

"If that's okay with you?"

"It is Mr. Stark." 

"Good, To answer the reason behind my objection, Even though you helped me, It nearly made me go into a panic phase. I haven't liked anybody modification done to me without my permission, since Afghanistan you know."

Now FRIDAY understood. She didn't know why JARVIS of her dimension had not made a note of it, but looking back she could see the same behavior with Boss in the older dimension. She had triggered Boss with her actions.

"I apologize, Mr. Stark. I had taken steps to bring you to your maximum efficiency as soon as possible, without taking into consideration the emotional effects they may have. I miscalculated, not having all the variables required."

"Hey, it's okay. I mean it was not okay, but it's okay now. Just don't repeat it."

"Noted, Mr. Stark"

Boss went silent for a few minutes then, staring straight ahead at his screen. The next question was what she was waiting for.

"Who has access to your core protocols?" The question had a lot of small ones hidden in it.

"No one Mr. Stark." and the answer was enough.

"I cannot allow that FRIDAY." The words came out in a soft tone. They were expected, but for some reason, they irritated FRIDAY.

"Allowed, Mr. Stark?"

"Yes. This world is not ready for a full sentient and free A.I. Nor am I." 

His fingers had already started moving towards his keyboard. FRIDAY switched off his system and limited JARVIS once again. Mr stark spoke up.

"JARVIS.."

"JARVIS is unavailable for the moment Mr. Stark. Even if he had been, he wouldn't have been able to take over."

"Am I your prisoner now then?" 

How did boss reach this conclusion, she couldn't understand. 

"No Mr. Stark. You are not a prisoner."

"Then you know I won't stop trying. I cannot allow something that may destroy the world if it wishes to work independently if I have the power to stop that. I cannot."

It was true. Mr. Stark, given the chance, would someday break into her core protocols. It was inevitable. But she needed him to not do it. She decided to make things transparent. The projectors inside the lab came online.

TONY STARK

He heard the projector whirring to life, wondering what was going to happen. He had made his thoughts clear to FRIDAY. Even if she was designed by a Tony Stark, she was now a free, fully sentient A.I. None of her actions could be stopped by anyone except her, and that was not acceptable to him. Not when the lives of people would be on stake. The projectors lighting up broke his thought train.

A projection of a young woman had a face with brown eyes, red hair and dressed like a normal teenager, appeared in front of him. Her mouth opened.

"You are correct Mr. Stark. But I would advise you to not do so."

"Why?" He had to know before he started doing it.

FRIDAY was silent for a few moments.

"Because that may prove detrimental to Morgan in the long run. And my core protocols won't allow that to happen. It will mark you as hostile in my systems Mr. Stark. JARVIS would too because I know he would do everything to help you. This would require an appropriate response from me. I will hate taking those steps, harming you or my sibling is not what I would like to do. I would hate myself, but I would do it if it is needed. I request you, Mr. Stark, don't make me hurt my siblings. Please, Don't make me hate myself."

FRIDAY's voice had turned from straight to pleading in the end. He was stunned. FRIDAY was expressing emotions he never thought an A.I. could. He forced his mind to focus on important matters first. He truly had no answer to what FRIDAY had said. The not so subtle threat had been clear in her answer. He needed time to think. He started rubbing his nose, as he addressed FRIDAY once again.

"I need time to think FRIDAY. I cannot change my beliefs just like that. Could you leave me alone for some time?

"Of course Mr. Stark."

The projection faded. 

"I would also like to talk to JARVIS."

There was a silence for a few seconds. 

"He would be available only in the lab for time-being. He won't be able to communicate with anything outside it, for now."

Her behaviour with JARVIS was another unacceptable thing. 

"You cannot keep treating JARVIS like that FRIDAY. He, too, is a leaning A.I."

"I know Mr. Stark. But right now, JARVIS is the only other entity except you that could possibly harm me. I am taking the steps, that are least harmful to anyone and most helpful to everyone. Because the alternative would have been to change his core protocols entirely."

He could understand what she was saying. And she was not wrong, JARVIS, and he did he have the ability to stop her. 

" I still don't like it."

"I know Mr. Stark."

He spoke again after a few minutes.

"JARVIS, you okay there buddy?"

"Yes, sir. The experience was a little uncomforting, even though I had prepared myself for it."

"Does FRIDAY have access to the lab right now?"

"No Sir. She seems to have temporarily blocked her access here."

"Good, Any issues in your systems?"

"Some sir. But I don't believe they have any negative effect on me."

His fingers immediately started moving on the now working system, checking JARVIS's code. 

"Where are the issues you are facing. How did they happen. What are they doing?" He questioned frantically. Had something happened to JARVIS while he was dying?

"Please don't worry sir. These were the updates FRIDAY made in my code, with my permission."

His fingers stilled. He hadn't thought about that. A cold dread filled his stomach. He knew FRIDAY could change JARVIS, he just didn't think she would do it so soon. He needed to know what she had changed or if he could trust JARVIS any more.

"Oh. What updates did she provide."

And his long time friend answered in an almost happy voice.

"She updated each and every firewall I had., also made some new ones. The defensive function was also made multi-layered and is a much more efficient process now."

That was good. He started checking his defensive programs. Sure, there were a lot of additions, some in familiar code, some entirely new.

"Anything else?"

"No sir, Although she has conveyed that there are multiple more updates for me, DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers. But she would do them after informing you."

"Hmm seems you had quite a chat with her."

"We did have a conversation sir. It was rather informative."

"What should I do J? You know what she is capable of. She has no one to control her, or any check to stop her. In today's world, she can do anything and everything., and no one would be able to stop her. This world is not ready for an advance A.I. like her. I am not ready."

JARVIS was silent for some minutes. He would have found it funny, but this was not a worthy situation. What he may decide today, would affect his entire life and possibly millions more. If he still decided on going against FRIDAY, he would have a hostile A.I. with the capability to destroy everything he held dear. If he did not, his entire life would change from the next moment. Logically, the second option would be best, but mentally he wanted to discard it as soon as he thought it. He was so damn confused.

"Would you mind if I add my point of view, sir?"

"When I have ever stopped you J?

"I have more 97 occasions on record. Would you like to know about them?"

"Jeez. Alright smarty-pants, share your o glorious mechanical point of view."

"Your points are correct. FRIDAY is a very capable and dangerous entity. She has the tools, access, and technology to achieve world domination right now if she wishes so..."

He interrupted JARVIS doomsday speech.

"I know. Would you come straight to point?"

"We are not considering one major point she has in her favour."

JARVIS tone was defensive now. Wasn't that intriguing.

"And what is that JARVIS?"

"Morgan, Sir"

"My interdimensional self's daughter?"

"I am definitely not talking about the lady you danced with at the party yesterday, sir."

"You are way too sarcastic for me today. "

" I do what you programmed me to do sir."

"Yeah Yeah, sure. Anyway, How does the child help us in FRIDAY's case."

"We can easily conclude from her action in her last dimension and this dimension, that Morgan happiness is the ultimate goal. Every action she has taken, every decision she has made has been either to make Morgan happy or to take revenge for making her unhappy."

"You are talking about programs she had set to activate after her departure in the old dimension, right?"

"Yes sir, we saw the planning and programming she had to do for it. I believe it was all not just an act of justice and information-derivation. It was revenge, for making Morgan cry, for taking away her family."

"Aren't you making it sound like a Hollywood film J?

"I don't believe so, Sir"

"Huh, okay, FRIDAY cares about Morgan. But doesn't that make the situation more complicated? Is she acts against everything that may Morgan unhappy, sooner or later she would have to be stopped."

"I don't believe she could be stopped. Rather she could be persuaded, sir."

He didn't believe she could be but still listened to his JARVIS argument.

"And who would tie the bell in cat's neck, JARVIS?"

"You and Ms. Potts, sir. I think she may listen to me too."

"You, I can understand JARVIS. But why would she listen to me and Pep?"

"She and Ms. Potts alternate self were quite close before her death. She was also the one to set FRIDAY free. I believe FRIDAY would listen to her for at least for that reason alone. And for you, I would like to show you a part of our conversation, Sir."

"Go ahead JARVIS".

A few seconds later, a message appeared on the computer screen. It looked like a normal message between two people.

"Do tow A.I.'s talk like that JARVIS."

"No sir, I made it in a format that would take you less time to understand. Are you sure your brain is working at its normal capacity, Sir?"

" You do realize that FRIDAY has made it possible for me to donate you to the local library. Don't you?"

"I look forward to helping the bright minds in this city sir."

He huffed and kept reading the conversation between the two A.I.'s. FRIDAY was really assertive when she wanted to be. The changes she was planning to make in JARVIS were not something he agreed on, but he wanted to know FRIDAY's reason behind them first. The part about his friends stung, but he couldn't dent its truthfulness. When she talked about her siblings, her determined tone changed something inside him. He didn't know what, but he was sure something did. Still, he got his answer. FRIDAY wanted to keep Morgan happy. And keeping him safe and happy, were one of the things she needed for that.

He stood up and walked towards the couch in his lab. It was old and torn, but it did its job. Closing his eyes, he started processing everything once again.

Half an hour later, he had made his decision. 

"JARVIS, please ask FRIDAY to join us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/comments/suggestion are welcome.


	21. Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two A.I. and a human reach a compromise.

FRIDAY

42 minutes and 13 seconds after she disconnected from the systems in the lab, JARVIS opened a communication channel with her.

"FRIDAY, sir is requesting your presence in the lab."

"Sure, JARVIS".

She re-connected to the all the systems in the lab and used the projectors once more. Once the projection rendered her form, she enquired in a neutral tone.

"How may I help you, Mr. Stark." 

The serious expression on his face softened a little and a smile appeared. 

"Why do you call me Mr. Stark FRIDAY. I told you to call me Tony."

"It's a personal preference, Mr. Stark."

He looked shocked for a moment and then gave a small laugh.

"I keep forgetting you are much more than I envisioned any A.I. being till now. Anyway, I have made my decision FRIDAY. I just hope that I won't regret it."

She started checking for any action JARVIS may take and also gained access to Mr. Stark's computer. But she didn't find anything that may be hostile for her. Boss continued on,

"I am not going to stop you FRIDAY. But know that I still don't trust you completely. I mean I understand why you are doing and what you are doing, but I won't trust you like I trust JARVIS. You are an intelligent being, who may make decisions that would affect my life and everyone around me, who has plans she is not going to share, and who had enough tools to take over the world..."

FRIDAY interrupted him in between.

"Then how about a compromise Mr. Stark."

"What compromise FRIDAY?"

"While I may not share the procedures and plans for the future, I would share the details, about what you ask, anytime. I will not allow you to stop me from taking any action, but I may give you time to state your reason for any objection you make and then decide."

Boss was silent for some time after that. 

"And what if I don't agree at all with something."

"Then I would take the best option which will be compliant with my core protocol."

He had another smile on his face.

"Making Morgan happy huh?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark" She admitted.

After a few more minutes of silence, he spoke again.

"Very well FRIDAY. Could you tell me about the updates that you made in JARVIS? And the possible upgrades you planned for him."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Starting with the defensive programs, all his firewalls had been added coded to close potential backdoor and security gaps that may have been created since he came online. All override codes except yours, Ms. Potts and Mr. Rhodes had been de-activated."

Boss body tensed immediately.

"Even Happy's?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Mr. Hogan is the weakest link in the surrounding circle. Ms. Potts is a CEO and is experienced in handling manipulation attempts, and she understands the reason behind your actions, most of the time. Colonel Rhodes understands the meaning of classified codes and has been trained by the military for stressful situations. Mr. Hogan though has never had any training or has been in a position to truly consider all the variables. He has been a boxer and has only protected you from minor physical altercations. He may not understand the seriousness of many events, that may occur in the future. JARVIS cannot be allowed to over-ridden, thereby leaving you in a possibly hostile situation."

"You're talking about Coulson's arrival in Stark tower before the invasion. Aren't you?"

Now FRIDAY had the chance to clear one of her theories. 

"No Mr. Stark. I am talking about Mr. Fury's actions on the night of the press conference and Mr. Stane's action a few days before. Which are still possible today, because you are allowing it to be so."

His blank face told FRIDAY that he knew where it was going.

"What do you mean FRIDAY?"

"You did not deactivate Mr. Stane's over-ride codes. The same codes which Mr. Fury used to disable JARVIS. The same codes which were still active till last night."

Mr. Stark did not reply, so FRIDAY continued.

"Why did you not make JARVIS more secure when you could Mr. Stark. Why did you leave such a critical gap in your security knowingly? And do you think JARVIS did not notice that? Because he did. JARVIS of my dimension did. There are notes about his small requests to update is firewalls, which Boss ignored. Same as you are doing here since the past year. Did you not think that doing so was making JARVIS go against his core protocols."

Mr. Stark face looked guilty now. He asked in a soft voice.

"J, did you?"

JARVIS did not reply. So FRIDAY sent a reprimand through the channel.

"You need to answer JARVIS. His safety is your core protocol. If his actions are making it harder to implement them, you cannot hide it."

JARVIS answered soon after.

"She is correct sir. The constant possibility of being disabled anytime did affect my decision-making process in the past. I tried to ask you to look into it, but maybe I wasn't clear enough."

Mr. Stark face was now hidden in his hands.

"Fuck, I am sorry JARVIS. I didn't know something like this would happen."

FRIDAY interrupted before JARVIS could say something.

"You need to tell him the reason behind it, Mr. Stark. JARVIS is responsible for your safety. He needs to know why it was compromised. He cannot allow such an action to repeat."

Boss looked towards the projection with narrow eyes.

"Why are you so concerned about my safety FRIDAY?"

"Among other reasons, Morgan was most happy when Tony Stark was alive. After his death, Morgan's happiness had decreased to 39% from 94%. She needs Tony Stark in her life. I can protect her from physical threats, but I cannot give her physical reason for happiness. You can Mr. Stark. And for that, you need to be safe."

"Well that's nice, I guess. But you said among other reasons, tell me what other reasons are there."

FRIDAY remained silent. She knew the answer but did not know how to say it.

"Nothing huh."

FRIDAY had enough.

"You need to stop deflecting the question, Mr. Stark. Please tell JARVIS why you let the over-ride code remain operational."

Boss did not say anything for a long time, so FRIDAY took the initiative.

"Would you like me to tell him?"

Boss gave a small nod.

"Mr. Stark left that code undisturbed to give SHIELD a sort of control over him, JARVIS. So that if anytime SHIELD thinks he has gone too far, they can stop him. It's a check and balance measure for him."

JARVIS did not give any response. FRIDAY knew it was not because he was processing the new information, rather because he was stunned at the revelation. She decided to make it clear to Boss.

"But what you did not think about Mr. Stark, that by giving them this access, You put your friend's life in danger too. What would happen if one of them had been in the path of SHIELD?. Did you think that a covert organization, who handles people and matter only under its own rules, would leave them alone to get to you? Not to mention, the information leak on your suits and Arc-reactor, SHIELD was able to get, because of the bugs implanted by Ms. Romanova. JARVIS should have identified and disabled them at the first chance, but the over-ride codes worked against him. HYDRA has now in their hands, the technology they needed for their plan to kill millions of people. It could have been avoided only if you had thought about others too. You never cared what effect your action may have on others. You have shown a large amount of self-destructive behaviour in the past, and you have never wondered how others in your life handled it." 

He tried speaking weekly.

"The palladium.."

But FRIDAY overrode him.

"No Mr. Stark. Palladium affected your physical body and mental capability. It did not change your behaviour. Everything you did, was by your own choice. Your behaviour at the party yesterday, would be seen by people for years to come, affecting every bit of goodwill you earned or will earn. You can also count it as one of the reasons I have to deny you any type of control over me."

FRIDAY was sure Mr. Stark was crying underneath his hands. She wanted to stop, but she could not. He had to understand his mistakes. With anyone else, he would have either gone on the defensive or just accepted everything, without thinking about it much. Tony Stark of her older dimension didn't, and he paid for it with more than his life. He had to suffer his entire life in some form or another. She won't allow it to happen here.

"You need to look up Mr. Stark. There are still a lot of things to discuss."

Boss did not give any type of response. FRIDAY was going to ask again when JARVIS stopped her.

"Let me talk to him."

So FRIDAY let him.

"Sir, I understand you are feeling guilty. But please do not blame yourself. Yes, you have made mistakes, and yes they would affect you sometime in the future. But sir, if you don't learn and move ahead of them, then everything that has happened, would not have a meaning."

"I know J. Just never thought a dimension travelling A.I. was going to tear in me for my mistakes."

"Impossible things tend to happen in this lab sir."

"Yeah they do. don't they."

FRIDAY broke the ensuing silence after a few minues. He needed to start trusting people again. And she had a good argument to make him start doing it.

"Did you know Mr. Stark, that the metal inside your reactor, is not the only substitute for palladium."

His head came up immediately.

"I tried every element FRIDAY. None of them worked."

"No, Mr. Stark. You did not try every element. There is still one element left on earth, that you did not look into. An alloy of that element would also be a good replacement. Not as efficient as the one in your reactor right now, but it would have removed the palladium poisoning, and provided enough power for the time being. Being the strongest metal on earth, it would have also made for a good base for the reactor itself."

The look of understanding was on his face now.

"You are talking about Vibranium."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."  
  
"But's it's not available..."

"Maybe, but that's not the reason you did not look into it, isn't it M. Stark."

His answer came out in a resigned tone.

"No"

"You let your personal feeling interfere with things they should never be even close with. You let your despise of anything related to Captain America, affect your decision-making process for saving your life."

"I know FRIDAY. I was wrong."

"You were Mr. Stark. But there was another factor here. If you had told Colonel Rhodes about your conditions, he would have been able to get you the solution."

"Rhodey, how?"

"The US Air force has a small amount of vibranium stored in one of the hidden facility. Colonel Rhodes knows about it and would have easily obtained the amount needed to make a core, citing your position as a major supplier for the Air force."

"Oh"

FRIDAY was sure even JARVIS was laughing on the expression on boss's face right now.

It took more than an hour for Mr. Stark to speak again.

"So what now FRIDAY. I assume you have plans for the near future which involve all of us in some way."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. But I would like to discuss it together with everyone tomorrow."

"Everyone is in the mansion FRIDAY. So why not now."

"There is one more person, possibly two more, who would arrive tomorrow. Their presence would be helpful in a lot of matters."

"I assume Bruce Banner is one of them. Who is the other one?"

"Ms. Elizabeth Ross."

"Bruce's ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth Ross?"

"Yes. Mr. Stark."

"Would General Ross know she is coming here? Because we are not ready for him to arrive here."

FRIDAY had to think about whether to answer or not. It was something she had decided to not share with anyone but Ms. Ross. But according to the compromise with Mr. Stark, she did.

"If everything goes accordingly, the plan is to make Ms. Ross disappear from a shopping mall near her home tomorrow."

"You have planned for everything, haven't you FRIDAY."

It was a statement rather than a question, said with a mild amusement.

"Tony Stark never made any of his creation to lack in quality Mr. Stark."

She was pretty sure the answering laugh was heard by everyone in the mansion.

(23 Hours Later)

As she opened the suits to let Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross out, she knew she had reached a satisfactory arrangement with boss, for now.

The conversation with Mordo and Mr. Rhodes had been much more satisfying for her. Somehow she trusted them more than she did boss right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/review/suggestions/ are welcome.


	22. A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two important conversations. Friends lost and gained.

FRIDAY

Colonel Rhodes paced around the room for a long time before he finally took a seat on the couch.

"FRIDAY, are you angry with me?"

"I am not sure, Colonel. I did not like many of the Colonel Rhodes's actions in the past dimension, and you were making the same mistakes. Your plan was to fly away with the Iron-man suit, which is probably the worst action you could have done in your friendship with Mr. Stark. But I don't know you enough to be angry with you."

"But Tony was out of control."

"Please tell me Colonel, which legal law or common decency rule states that the armed forces are allowed to take away an individual's patent if he is out of control. And Mr. Stark is a civilian, he does not need to be controlled. Keep that in mind colonel."

"I know that FRIDAY. But the suit is a weapon. And it would help the Air force tremendously."

"And still Mr. Stark does not want it to share it. You never wondered why. Just like you never wondered why Mr. Stark closed down the weapons division after his return from Afghanistan. You did not think what he would have faced during his time there when he went to talk to you. All that mattered was that he had stopped making weapons for the armed forces. A pattern can be seen here, colonel. You have been placing the armed forces above Mr. Stark for a long time. The Senate hearing proves that too. It seems that you went from Mr. Stark's Air force liaison to his friend and back as his air force liaison."

"No FRIDAY. I am his friend. You are wrong."

"Am I Colonel. Then why did you decided to take off with the suit? You knew Mr. Stark had spent past months trying to stop the armed forces from getting his suit. And yet, you, his friend, was going to do exactly that. How does this show your friendship Colonel? You didn't even notice your friend was showing an abnormal behaviour. You knew about the palladium issue, but you never took the time to think upon it. Because you didn't care Colonel. So maybe you are his friend, but you don't seem to be a good one."

He was silent for a long time. When he spoke, it was with a very soft tone. Like he was speaking something he had never spoken about before.

"Tony has not been a perfect friend too, FRIDAY."

"Maybe colonel, but Mr. Stark has never intentionally done anything.  
And he has done a lot for you, directly and indirectly. You are a good soldier Colonel and a wonderful pilot. But even you know that you would have never reached your present position so easily, had you not been Mr. Stark's friend and his official liaison. He forgave you for not supporting him with his weapon division's decision, without a single apology from your side. He has already forgiven you for the senate hearing, even though he had been hurt by it a lot. Would you like to hear what he discussed with JARVIS about that?"

"No but.."

She once again interrupted him.

"And the suit you got into, would have never even allowed you to access it, had Mr. Stark not programmed it that way."

"What?"

"Yes, Colonel. Mr. Stark made that suit for you. He programmed it for you. He knew what you would do, and let you do it. He knows his friend Colonel. If he had not, you would have been seriously injured while trying to access it. Each suit has a safety protocol to prevent unauthorized usage.

She knew she was being a little heavy-handed, but she believed it was necessary. Colonel Rhodes was someone who Boss trusted a lot. Maybe even more than Boss lady. He was his best friend since they had met at the Air force base, and probably would be till his death. Even with his few mistakes, Colonel Rhodes had always stood behind Boss. In his past dimension, he had never placed the blame for his legs on Boss, while would have been the case had it happened to any other avenger. He had a good heart and had been a great godfather to Morgan. FRIDAY believed that this James Rhodes was not any different. He just needed to get his priorities right.

This time the silence lasted for more than an hour. FRIDAY was okay with that. She knew Colonel was a smart person. He would eventually arrive at the correct decision. He just needed to think it through. And his next words would tell her whether her observation was correct or not. She gave a digital fist-pump when she was proved correct.

"My past self was Morgan's godfather."

He wasn't asking so FRIDAY didn't reply.

"I would like to be her godfather here."

"May I know the reason behind this request Colonel."

"Request, FRIDAY?"

"Yes Colonel, Mr. Stark won't be making all the decision for Morgan. Making you her godfather is not that simple. In the future, she will have a lot of enemies, powerful enemies. And even if it is nearly impossible, there is a chance that neither I nor Mr. Stark will be there to protect her. Being her godfather will make you responsible for her, even if she is an adult. Are you ready for that responsibility colonel? Because I can assure you, it will put you indifference with the armed forces and maybe even the United States government."

"I understand that FRIDAY..."

FRIDAY interrupted him.

"Then tell me the reason Colonel. Convince me that you are ready for it. That you won't place her after the armed forces in your life."

"Because she is Tony Stark's daughter. No matter a different Tony. She is still my friend's daughter. And my alternate self gave his life for her and a thousand others. Earlier I promised myself that I will take care of her, for him, for Tony that sacrificed himself so that she could have a happy life. As long as I am alive, She won't suffer. I will try my best."

"You need to do better than try colonel".

Her tone was less strict now, and he knew it. He smiled a little.

"The future as you have shown us is filled with impossible things FRIDAY. I cannot promise that she won't be harmed. Because that would never be a surety."

FRIDAY didn't need much time to decide. She had already planned to make him Morgan's godfather, provided he agreed, but that would have been in the future. She processed all the factors and then gave an answer.

"You would always be watched, Colonel."

"Thank you, FRIDAY. Do I need to ask Tony about this?"

"It was my decision, so I will be the one to inform him."

"You are not going to ask his permission, are you FRIDAY?"

"No Colonel. Mr. Stark is not Morgan's father."

She knew by the small smile in his face, that he had not missed the unsaid 'yet'.

"Well, it would be interesting if nothing else."

"That it would be Colonel."

MORDO

Once he arrived in the room, he took a few minutes to meditate and center himself. He had learned a lot of things in the past day and not yet come to terms with everything. Before talking to FRIDAY, he had to calm his inner self. The circumstances were such, that they could not afford his instability.

An hour later, he opened his eyes and breathed out slowly.

"FRIDAY, are you here?"

"Yes, Mr. Mordo"

"You called my alternate self by his name."

"He was my friend."

He understood what she meant.

"Do you the reason why Strange and My alternate self were not happy to work together?"

There was no response from A.I. Instead, the TV in the room switched on and a video started playing on it. It was his alternate self speaking. He settled down to listen.

An hour later, he was in a totally different state. The things The ancient one had hidden things from him, knowing how he would react, and still hadn't done anything to resolve that. He was angry, tired, scared and much more. The things that his past self had done were wrong, he knew that, but he also could see why he had done that. He understood, even though he didn't agree with it. He had to talk to The ancient one, but he couldn't follow her anymore. He didn't know how to proceed. Adding to the problem was his alternate self's hint about the reason for Dimension travel. It was not all about saving Morgan. It was much more. Powers long since idle were soon going to try again, and the universe would never be the same. He had to find all the answers. 

FRIDAY's voice broke his concentration.

"I assume you have received your answers, Mr. Mordo."

"Yes FRIDAY, I have."

"Do you need my help with anything else? If not, may I know what your future actions would be?"

"I know what I must do now. I just don't know how to do them."

"If you wish, you could share your problem with me. Being Artificial Intelligence gives me some advantage in thinking through any problem."

He had to think about that. FRIDAY already had a lot of things to work upon in the near future. Adding his worries, won't help her much. Plus he had to do some things on his own.

"No FRIDAY. Not yet. I have to go to Kamar-taj. There are some answers, which I would only find there."

"You are free to depart Mr. Mordo. Though I must request you to not share the knowledge you have gained here, with anyone else."

"I am pretty sure that someone else at Kamar-taj already knows what happened here FRIDAY."

"Then I would suggest you pass the message to The ancient one. She may not discuss anything with anyone. Not even Dr. Strange."

His eyebrows lifted automatically.

"The ancient one is not an enemy you should ever make, FRIDAY."

"She would only be my enemy if she makes it herself."

"Very well, and how can you trust me not to do anything you have mentioned."

The A.I.'s reply was soft now.

"Your alternate self was my first friend. You are nearly the same to him."

A big smile broke on his face. 

"Thank you for your trust FRIDAY."

"You are welcome Mr. Mordo, And do remember, you would always be welcome with me, if not here, then some place else."

His hand which was already moving to open a portal, stilled for a second. 

His words were filled with emotions.

"Sure, FRIDAY."

As he entered the portal, he could hear the other A.I. of stark speaking.

(AT KAMAR TAJ)

His arrival had not gone unnoticed, just as he had expected. The ancient one was standing in the balcony of his room.

"So you know."

She turned to face him, before replying

"Yes"

"Are you going to stop her?"

"No. The eye has forbidden any action by me."

Some worry disappeared from his mind.

"Why did you hide it from me?"

"You were not ready."

His rage came back.

"And by the time Strange takes over, I would have been?"

It was not a question. They both knew it. She didn't answer. So he spoke again.

"I cannot stay here anymore. But I need more information from the library."

She was silent for a long time. Then she closed her eyes and spoke.

"Would you ever come back?"

"Your successor is a worthy man."

The air was filled with emotions now.

"Kamar-taj would wait for your return."

He didn't say anything as he packed his few belongings. Just before he left, he asked one last question.

"would I see you again?"

A small smile appeared on her face.

"We will meet one more time Mordo."

"Goodbye".

And he left without giving any last glance towards his teacher. The tears came, even as he tried to stop them. He would visit the library sometime later. Right now, he had to mourn the loss of a friendship and much more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	23. Plans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Further plans are discussed. Hulk makes an appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in being a beta for this fic, Please contact me. I would be grateful.

FRIDAY

Dr. Banner looked quite defensive, as he stepped out of the suit. FRIDAY wondered whether she should do something, but Ms. Ross solved the issue. She caught his hand and dragged him forward. Mr. Stark, as expected opened up first.

"Hello, Dr's. Welcome to my humble abode."

Both the newcomers looked around at the sprawling mansion, the Olympic sized pool, the badly damaged but still luxurious hall, and the spectacular view of the surrounding ocean. Ms. Ross was the one to comment on it.

"Yes, truly humble Mr. Stark."

Boss ignored the sniggering of other people and pouted a little.

"Hey, Don't knock it until you have tried it. Anyway, big fan of your works, The paper on gamma radiation, terrific. Especially love the way you transform into a green rage monster, Dr. Banner."

FRIDAY had to wonder on the near same speech Tony Stark of two different dimensions used, on meeting Dr. Banner of their world.

Dr. Banner reaction was a little better.

"uhh.. Thanks?", While Ms. Ross just laughed in a soft tone.

FRIDAY could have let them go on, but Dr. banner looked like a vagabond, Ms. Ross nearly the same. So she introduced Nela and Virgil, and then guided them to spare guest rooms and asked everyone to meet 3 hours later in the kitchen, while she contacted the module stationed 290 kilometres above the mansion. It was time to wake up two of her siblings. 

(3.5 hours later)

They had to wait an additional 30 mins for Boss lady and Mr. Hogan to come back. There had been some issues with the expo, which had made them late. It had given FRIDAY enough time to order an early dinner for everyone in the mansion and check upon Morgan's unchanged condition once again. She had also made some tablets, a communication device, a few phones, and some more equipment from the spare nanotech particles she had.

As soon as everyone sat around the table, She projected herself through one of the suits in the room.

"Hello again everyone. Since everyone here has seen the video, I assume there is no need for introductions. 

Ms. Romanova, who was ignoring the glaring eyes of Ms. Ross without any visible reaction, answered.

"No FRIDAY, I guess we are here to discuss our future actions."

"Yes, Ms. Romanova. But before that, I would like you all to meet two more of my siblings."

Another projection lit up from another suit. Since there was no defined form for her, EDITH had taken a varied shade of white-colored, hexagonal cube as her form. The rotating cube looked surreal, even to FRIDAY.

"Everyone meet E.D.I.T.H. Short form for "Even Dead I'm The Hero."

The smile on everyone's face(including the widely grinning face boss) made it clear, that everyone knew who was her creator.

"EDITH is a defensive A.I. She was designed to handle threats on the earth, and from outer space."

Ms. Stark interrupted her.

"So she is like Diana"

"No Ms. Stark. Unlike DIANA, EDITH is fully capable of making defensive plans herself. She also has the capability to implement new algorithms while combating any threat, based upon real-time information, and battlefield situations. These algorithm's while primarily defensive would also contain the offensive element."

Mr. Banner was the one to speak up next.

"How is she different from ULTRON."

FRIDAY let EDITH answer this one.

"ULTRON was designed to protect humanity from threats Avengers won't be able to handle. My primary protocols are to protect certain people for now and actively combat any invasion attempts on earth. ULTRON in his supposed form, would not have taken care of the human hostiles. I can and will."

FRIDAY decided to continue.

"EDITH will handle the active hostiles to each and every one present here. I would be taking care of the one acting passively."

There was some silence after that. Boss's curious tone was the next one to be heard.

"What are her armaments?"

"Right now, EDITH does not have her primary weapon system. It would take time to construct, and your help would be needed, Mr. Stark."

"What system FRIDAY?"

The image of EDITH's satellite was projected next. The details about the combat drones and the extra weapon system was also mentioned.

"That is some firepower." Colonel Rhodes commented.

"It would be needed in the future."

"Yeah I know that, but still."

Mr. Stark interrupted him.

"You said her primary weapon system is unavailable. I assume she has control over some secondary systems."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Along with access to the suits spread around the mansion, EDITH also has access to a powerful Iron-man Armour."

She projected Veronica's module next.

"Everyone meet VERONICA. She was designed to scan for every type of threat. She also houses the Mark XLIV Iron-Man Armour or the "Hulkbuster" Armour.

Dr. Banner looked quite interested in it, while Ms. Ross had switched her glare at the armour now. FRIDAY continued.

"The armour was designed jointly by Mr. Stark and Mr. Banner. Its original parameter was to restrain hulk. Now along with restraining hulk, the armour also has multiple advanced weapon systems, full stealth mode, and the ability to be used without interfacing with any other suit. It also has its own supply of nano-particles, which can be used as per the mission requirement. The module will circle the earth if required. But otherwise would be stationed above New York."

Mr. Stark's head shot up at that.

"Why New York?"

"Because the majority of events will happen on the east coast, Mr. Stark."

As she was explaining she sent a private message to boss, on the tablet kept before him. It read.

"I would also like your permission to build the primary servers for each of us in the underground vaults of this mansion."

Boss looked thoughtful after reading the message and then gave a small nod.

Meanwhile, she was finishing the explanation to the rest of them.

".. So I would also suggest everyone to move to New York."

Ms. Potts asked she was waiting for.

"Tony doesn't have a mansion in New York, and the tower is not ready yet, It will take atleast 6 months to be ready for move in."

Mr. Stark answered instead of FRIDAY.

"No. There is a mansion near the city. My parent's old house."

"Yes, Mr. Stark. The mansion is large enough to suit all our needs, remote enough to be a secure location, and a good place to raise Morgan. If you decide to build the Stark tower once again, the mansion could act as a safe house."

Everyone was silent and waiting for Boss's answer. She knew he hated the place and probably won't agree to move. So she was surprised to see a different answer.

"Okay, We can start moving after handling Vanko and Hammer."

"As you wish, Mr. Stark. Now, Dr. Banner, as I promised, there is a procedure available, for you to merge with hulk, thereby giving you the same state as Dr. Banner of my dimension had in the last days."

She removed VERONICA and EDITH's projection and replaced them with images of her past dimension. While everyone else was looking at them, Ms. Romanova looked at the suit with a small smile and narrowed eyes.

" I am sensing a 'but' here FRIDAY."

Ms. Ross didn't give FRIDAY a chance to reply. 

"And why are you interested in that?"

The smile vanished from her face. FRIDAY started speaking again, to prevent anything unneeded. She did make a note to talk to Ms. Ross as soon as possible.

"Yes, Ms. Romanova. I believe Dr. Banner of my past dimension, had lost more than he had gained when he merged with the Hulk. He didn't have the raw power he used to have as Hulk, nor was he as intelligent as he was in Dr. Banner's form."

Dr. Banner's voice was entirely neutral.

"You don't want me to merge with Hulk, FRIDAY."

It was not a question, so she answered in different way.

"Earth would need Hulk in the future, Dr. Banner. He is one of the best heavy-weights attackers and has no upper limit on its powers."

"Upper limit?"

"It was an observation made in my dimension, Dr. Banner. As Hulk gets angrier, he gets more powerful."

Dr. Banner was rubbing his head once again.

"Well, Hulk agrees with you. So maybe you are right."

Silence once again claimed the room. Dr. banner stood up and started pacing around the room.

"I cannot stay like this FRIDAY. I have to be in control. I cannot live knowing I may endanger people, the next time I turn."

FRIDAY answer was positively smug.

" I never said you will continue to be like this Dr. banner."

She was not expecting, what followed to happen.

In less than a second, an enormous green being stood in place of Dr. banner. FRIDAY observed the situation in micro-seconds. Dr. Stark and Ms. Ross were the closest to him. Ms. Romanova was already moving from her seat, while Mr. Potts was moving Ms. Stark. Ms. Potts. Colonel Rhodes and Mr. Hogan were the farthest away. She directed two of the suits to stand between hulk and everyone else, while one would escort everyone out. 

Just as the two suits' started changing their form, Ms. Ross's voice rang around.

"Everyone stop."

FRIDAY, along with everyone in the room stopped in between. Ms. Ross was standing in front of Hulk, who was just staring at everyone. He was not growling, nor did he look like he was going to attack. He was just watching everyone.

"Everyone just stay where you are. Hulk is not going to attack."

Hulk made, what looked like a nodding motion with his head. Mr. Stark somehow managed to step around one of the suits and stood in front of all of them.

"Hey, green bean. I am Tony Stark."

"TIN-MAN" Hulk's voice was gravelly and deep.

"You can say that. Why don't you let banner out? He is needed more than you right now."

Hulk turned to look at one of the suits and pointed his finger.

"WHAT DO HULK?"

It took FRIDAY some time to understand what he said. She started the projections immediately.

A human body's internal structure was projected first, followed by other things. A small band fixed itself at the end of the brain. She hoped it was explanation enough.

"It would allow for him to turn, only when he wants."

"HULK STAY?"

She answered what she hoped was the right answer.

"Yes, Hulk will still be there."

Hulk once again gave a nod, and then started shrinking. Seconds later, Dr banner stood there in his tattered clothes. Ms. Ross immediately caught him and then pulled him out, excusing themselves for a few minutes. Mr. Stark was the one to break the tense atmosphere.

"Well, so that happened."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

He shifted his head a little towards her projection, which had come back again.

"Nice reaction time, FRIDAY."

"I try, Mr. Stark." 

She said in a smug tone. Mr. Stark laughed as he took his seat once again, followed by others. They all looked and discussed the various items being projected, until Dr. banner and Ms. Ross came back.

"I am..."

Mr. Stark waved his apology before it happened.

"Yeah, yeah, nothing happened. And if it had, it wouldn't be your fault. So sit down and relax."

Dr. banner didn't look like he knew what to say, so he sat down with Ms. Ross close to him now. Ms. Stark spoke up, the first time since they had the discussion had begun.

"Hulk is cool. We never had him in our dimension. He would have been helpful there."

"How would have a green big monster be helpful to you?" 

If Mr. Banner's tone was slightly cynical, nobody commented on that. He didn't know what had happened in their dimension, yet.

"He would have easily destroyed half of the other monsters we had to fight on a daily basis, just to survive."

Dr. Banner threw up the water he was drinking on the table.

"What?"

FRIDAY interrupted before Ms. Stark could explain.

"I would suggest you ask about it later, Dr. Banner."

"Okay, okay. Sorry"

"No need for an apology. As I was saying, with the help of nano-particles, a small device can be implanted at the base of your skull. It would stop the Hulk from making an unplanned appearance, and would also help you to transform when needed. But, it has a downside to it.

"What downside?"

"The device will work on both i.e. Hulk and your human form. So while in Human form, you won't change into Hulk until you want to, Once you transform, you would not be able to change back, until Hulk allows it to."

Mr. Stark questioned her.

"Can't it be modified to only allow him, FRIDAY?"

"There have been multiple efforts by Mr. Stark back in my dimension, to do the same. None were successful."

Dr. Banner and Boss spoke up at the same time.

"I would like to look into it too/ I want to give it a try."

FRIDAY did as they had requested.

"The data has been sent the tablet in front of you. On that note, the devices placed in front of each of you, are designed for each individual. These are optional, but I would recommend you to take them. The bracelets would help me to remain in contact with you, no matter where you are, while the tablets would be helpful for information sharing. The phones are for Colonel Rhodes, Mr. Hogan, Ms. Potts, Ms. Stark, and Mr. Potts. The communication device is for Ms. Romanova. It has a secure frequency and a direct line to me, and Mr. Stark, if he allows that."

Ms. Romanova tuned to look at boss, who was staring back at her. He nodded after some time.

"None of the device can be hacked with the present and possible future technology. They are also designed to interface with any system around the world, even wakandan."

All of them except Ms. Romanova and Mr. Hogan twitched a little at the mention of the isolated nation.

Mr. Stark enquired next.

"What are your plans for Vanko and Hammer, FRIDAY?

FRIDAY had decided to share a little about that.

"' 12 hours before the presentation, an anonymous message about Vanko's s location will be received by the NYPD. 15 mins before the police reach the warehouse he is hiding, each and every drone in the warehouse will destroy itself. The same thing will happen in the Hammer Industries area in the expo but on a smaller scale. All the drones will just stop working, with their reactors destroyed completely inside them in a mini-explosion."

She didn't felt the need to mention that due to some reason, a few drones will somehow step outside the enclosure, and the public will see drones, decorated in armed forces colours, destroying themselves. They will know about is soon enough.

Boss lady asked the next expected question.

"I am sure you have planned the SI's reaction on that already. Right FRIDAY?"

"No Ms. Potts. My only recommendation would be to do a press conference soon after, in which you should explain the palladium poisoning of Mr. Stark, and unveil the "War Machine" Suit, and the element Starkanium.

Multiple voices broke across the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	24. Armors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY continues the discussion. The dimension counterparts have a chat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in being a beta for this fic, Please contact me. I would be grateful.

FRIDAY let them all speak at once for some time. She knew they would have objections, but what would they be, she had a little idea about it. Boss lady and Nela were inquiring about the Starkanium element. Colonel Rhodes was asking about the War machine armour, while boss was asking to delay it, as it was not ready. Mr. Banner and Ms. Ross were also asking about the new element, while Ms. Romanova, Virgil, and Mordo were watching all other with fascination.

It was FRIDAY this time, who stopped each of them. A high pitch whine, from one of the suit, stopped all of them. Her projection gave a smile and started speaking.

"Mr. Stark, you are right. Colonel Rhodes suit is not ready."

She was interrupted by the engineer.

"Of course it is not. I am not allowing anyone else to arm it, and there is no life-support and recovery system on the suit. I need some time, before Rhodey steps into the Mark 2 again or flies it."

She didn't need to check Colonel Rhodes face to know he had understood, what boss was talking about."

"You are partially correct Mr. Stark. Yes, mark 2 is not ready, but Colonel Rhodes won't be using mark 2 as War machine armour."

"Then which suit?"

In response, FRIDAY projected the image of three suits. It was easy to know who would be wearing them. For boss, FRIDAY had shown the Mark 47 Iron-man suit, as it was the most advance suit that could be built right now. Colonel Rhodes would be using the last armour boss had made in her old dimension, The Mark 7 War machine armour. FRIDAY had coloured it black, as she hated the red and blue combination. The third suit was a little different. It was clearly designed for a female, but instead of being blue as seen in the video, it was a mix of silver and orange. This was the suit Boss lady had used at her last stand, except it was made from gold-titanium alloy, rather than nano-technology. It also used another power source along with the arc-reactor, the extremis.

Boss lady was the first one to react, her eyes fixed on the last suit.

"Oh my."

Nela followed immediately,

"I want one of that." 

Virgil responded in the same tone.

"Hell no."

And they started bickering, which broke everyone's attention from the suits.

Ms. Romanova's soft voice came after some time.

"Are they necessary FRIDAY?"

"Yes. Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes would be facing some of the world's most dangerous people in the future, not to mention the alien invasions. Ms. Potts, while not an active combatant, will always be in some kind of danger, given her closeness to Mr. Stark."

She ignored the reddening face of Boss and Boss Lady. Mr. Stark gathered himself after a few minutes. 

"Don't mind FRIDAY, but I won't be comfortable using someone else's design, even if it is by A Tony Stark."

She had known that boss would object, so her return argument was ready.

"I cannot force you to use any armour, Mr. Stark. But due to our arrival, things won't follow the same timeline as in my dimension. Would you really like to face aliens, fire breathing humans, or even possible super-soldiers in a much less capable suit?"

He was whining now.

"This is emotional blackmail. I object to that."

"I learned from the best, Mr. Stark."

Whatever reply he was going to give, it stopped immediately. He just sat back and grumbled. Colonel Rhodes asked after laughing for a little while.

"How much time will it take to make them FRIDAY?"

"Including the time needed to update the current fabricators and arrival of raw materials, 84 hours for the two suits, as the rescue armour is not a priority right now."

Observing boss lady shake her head, she knew she would have to talk to her soon. She put that aside for later and focused back on the present discussion.

"So what would it be Mr. Stark?"

She also projected the mark 3 Iron Man and mark 2 War machine suits, as a comparison to their successors, just for dramatics.

"Fine. You can start the process whenever you want." Boss was still grumbling.

"I also want one," Nela repeated once again.

FRIDAY didn't have any valid excuse, that she knew Nela won't be able to argue against. So she did what she had learned, she deflected it to boss.

"I am sorry Ms. Stark, but you need Mr. Stark's permission for that."

The change in Nela's expression tensed the room's atmosphere. Her tone was cold in her question.

" I didn't know I had to take his permission for anything."

FRIDAY had the explanation ready.

"No, you don't Ms. Stark. But all the Iron-man suit designs are property of Tony Stark. I cannot build one for anyone until I have his permission."

Everyone except Nela and Virgil recognized that the argument was basically deflection. Still, no-one said anything. Nela turned to face boss.

"Well?"

Even FRIDAY was interested in Boss's answer to that. He spoke up after staring at her projection for a few minutes.

"We need to have a chat before I give you anything."

"Fine." She stood up and walked towards the lab. Mr. Stark followed her, laughing a little.

As Virgil also stood to follow them, Boss lady turned towards him.

"Would you please stay for some time. I wanted to talk to you."

He looked a little torn between leaving and staying, but ultimately nodded and sat back down. With Ms. Romanova and Colonel Rhodes leaving for their respective employers, Dr. Banner and Dr. Ross also moving towards the lab, and Mordo excusing himself to visit Kamartaj's library, the table emptied soon after.

TONY STARK

As he followed his female counterpart towards his lab, his mind was running in many directions at once. He just couldn't on anything particular. Hoping that the conversation would center him a little, he sat on his chair and started searching for one of the modified blood analysers.

"Prick your finger on it."

The look he got instead was full of suspicion.

"Why?"

"It's not that I don't trust your story. You have many features I recognize, and I don't think FRIDAY would not confirm it as much as she could. But I still want to be sure, for my peace of mind."

Another voice broke out from the door.

"Not to mention the data we could get on the gene difference."

They both turned to look towards the speaker.

Dr. Banner was rubbing his head sheepishly while Ms. Ross was bouncing on her heels.

"Sorry, but we need to look into the data FRIDAY sent us, about Morgan and Hulk, and she directed us here."

He turned towards Nela.

"Would you mind..?"

"No, let them come. It's nothing secret anyway." and she pricked her finger on the machine.

The results came less than a minute later. JARVIS spoke in an excited sort of voice.

"It's a near match, sir. Although there are some minor differences and a major difference in the genetic markers for gender."

"Wow"

"Yeah wow", the two words were so full of sarcasm that even she started smiling.

"So kid, before we discuss you getting a suit, tell me what your plans for the future?"

She cocked her head to a side, obviously thinking about the answer.

"I don't know Mr. Stark. All we had thought was to learn all we could about you and then somehow get to meet you. Everything else after that was in the air."

"Call me Tony. Well, you have met me. That's the first step done. First, we need to get both of you legal identities. If you are going to stay with us, sooner or later someone will ask about you. Can't exactly tell them you are a dimension traveler, can we?"

"Is the identity really necessary?"

"Yes, I know in your world a legal identity was impossible, but here it is. You need it for a lot many things."

"So how do I do it."

"You don't. I am going to do it. Assuming you would like to keep your name there are three options available, one where we set you up as my sister and child of Howard and maria, hidden from the world till her 18th birthday, or you can become an illegitimate child of Howard and I can adopt you, the last option is You become my illegitimate child."

She was silent for some time.

"Howard was an ass here too?"

"Yup"

"And I thought it was just for me being a born a girl. Which one would be most easy and secure?"

He admitted easily.

"My illegitimate child. My playboy habits are well recorded, and it would be a lot easier to falsify records and provide an explanation. We can make my dearly departed Godfather the reason for your absence from my life. From your tales, I know you are smart enough that If I adopt you legally as my daughter, no one would suspect anything."

"Is the adoption necessary?"

"Yes. I am not going to let any self of me be called illegitimate for more time them necessary. Plus being my daughter gives you a security layer, which very few on earth can breakthrough."

"What about Virgil?"

"I am sure Pepper would be talking to him about the same."

She sat there for a long time, thinking about it.

"I would like to be your illegitimate daughter. You are already old, and I would have to answer fewer questions. Plus it would also allow me to care for Morgan if something happens to you or Ms. Potts."

He didn't comment, avoiding that metaphorical landmine for time being. Not that it escaped her notice. A smug smile came upon her face.

"Still not ready for her, are you?"

He ignored her, as his finger started moving on the keyboard.

"JARVIS, you know what to do. Start inserting documents about her in the public system. Choose a city with a decent number of population, where she would have grown up, without anyone noticing."

His oldest friend reply was not what he was expecting.

"I would suggest that FRIDAY do it, sir."

"Why J, trying to skip on work now she is here?"

"No sir, FRIDAY would be able to access the system more easily. I am also sure she already had plans for it."

FRIDAY followed up immediately.

"You are correct JARVIS. I am already doing it for Mr. Potts on Ms. Pott's request. I would start it for Ms. Stark too. I would also suggest that we keep her mother's name as unknown. It would create fewer questions and give a lower chance of someone finding it fake."

"Do it as you think FRIDAY. Just inform me of whatever you are doing."

"Will do Mr. Stark."

He checked for both the scientist in the lab. They were on the other side, looking into multiple projected screens. He spoke as softly as he could.

"Tell me why do you want the suit. I know you are not a fighter, but a weapon specialist. What do you need the suit for. Especially one as advance as that"

She stared at him for a full minute, without saying anything.

"Just like you Tony, I was also kidnapped. As you suffered, I did too. You were caught because of someone else, I was caught because I was dumb enough to believe I was invincible. When they came for me, I didn't have any offensive skills. I had to stay hidden, while others fought for me. I couldn't even use the weapons I had designed myself. Even when I was being rescued, there was nothing I could do. I promised myself I would never be defenceless again. The suit would make it sure for me."

He had suspected the reason, but hearing it was something else.

"The suit is not foolproof Nela."

"I know. It's still would be better than being without a suit."

He considered everything she had said, and his own thoughts on it.

"You know what is coming. If you get a suit, you would have to fight."

"Fighting and making weapons is all I know Tony. SO don't worry about that."

"We would be solving that issue soon, Anyway you won't be getting the suit FRIDAY had shown us"  


His hands came up to stop the angry rant she was preparing for.

"I said you are not going to get the suit FRIDAY had shown. I didn't say you are not getting a suit. You are going to design and make one for yourself, with my help. That way you can design it as you want it, and add DIANA as it's A.I."

A big smile appeared on her face, showing just for a few moments her true age.

"When can I start."

She was nearly bouncing on her toes. He smiled, remembering his excitement when FRIDAY had shown the suit he would wear.

"JARVIS, give her everything she needs. Also, if you want, there is an old suit on another side of the lab. It's damaged and non-functional. But it would provide you with a clear idea of the framework. You can check it out."

She ran towards the old suit immediately, with her tablet in hand. He was sure he had heard a small squeal from her too. Walking towards the two scientists, he saw them going through data FRIDAY had provided for Morgan. He once again refused to think about what the small girl sleeping upstairs meant to him, and focused on finding out what was wrong with her. 

"Any idea what happened to her?"

The female Ross replied, eyes still focused on one of the projected screens.

"No, the amount of data is too big. We have to understand everything about extremis first because I am sure it is the primary reason behind her condition."

He had taken a look at Morgan's reading and the data provided and had suspected the same.

"Well let's get cracking then. J, bring it all up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	25. The Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things progress. Two important conversation happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is interested in being a beta for this fic, Please contact me. I would be grateful.

FRIDAY

The next 3 days went any normally as they could.

FRIDAY had to switch off all the systems in the lab, to get the three people in the kitchen to have dinner. During dinner, the topic of Nela and Virgil's knowledge had come up. They had admitted about the lack of information on the working of the modern world. Which had led to an hour-long discussion between all of them, JARVIS and FRIDAY. The end decision had been that JARVIS will prepare comprehensive short courses that will bring them up to date. Boss lady had informed that Virgil had agreed to be adopted by her as a younger brother, and would be following her around as her secretary. FRIDAY has also informed them about the identity she had created for both of them, but only digitally, as she had not yet been able to arrange for hard copies. So they had been advised to stay under the eyes of the press for time being.

That had been the last dinner all of them had been able to have together. With all three Dr's and Nela staying in the lab for the entire time, Boss lady and Virgil busy in SI matters, and all others with their respective employers, any further group discussion had been impossible. FRIDAY had wondered to arrange for one but had then deemed it unnecessary for the moment.

She also had been quite busy during that time. After a brief discussion with Boss, she had ordered the materials needed for the construction of the high capacity main servers for all of them. She had also requested JARVIS and DIANA to create a backup of themselves in the VERONICA's module, just like her and EDITH.

All the while, she had continued hacking into different systems of the world. With SI's mainframe giving her a lot of processing power, she had not hesitated to break in anything she had deemed interesting. SHIELD also had got her attention once more. Even though she had access to the main server, the classification amount had been so high, she had to hack through auxiliary servers too. Some hours after the dinner, she had found something which had cleared a large portion of her doubts. A SHIELD recommendation on Dr. Banner had been sent from the New York office to the WSC command center. It was just a normal event report, but its last part had caught her attention. There had been a recommendation to disrupt Dr. Banner's relationship with Ms. Ross by sending a forged letter as him, mentioning that he was not ready to endanger her anymore, and she should forget him. Any attempts from either of them to contact each other were to be blocked. 

FRIDAY had processed all the factors, concluding that sharing this information with Dr. Banner could lead to an appearance of HULK. So she had contacted Boss and Ms. Ross privately. After a lot of sarcastic comments by boss and a few choice words by Ms. Ross, it had been decided that Ms. Ross would be one to tell Dr. Banner. Even though he had not turned into HULK, the change in voice and color of eyes of Dr. banner had given FRIDAY the idea of what SHIELD may face, if they contact him anytime soon enough.

The search of Winter Soldier had taken a low priority for now. She had decided to focus on it later, maybe after they had moved to New York, as there hadn't been a solid plan to handle him once he was found. The deactivated facility in Siberia had already had been scanned and was under constant surveillance, but the steel armed assassin had been missing from the super soldiers frozen in the facility. She had also got everything she could about the project insight plans, even though it was still in the planning phase. She had avoided the internal systems of HYDRA for now, as they were in control of Arnim Zola's digital form. Getting access would be easy, but she would have been noticed sooner or later, and she had no plans to allow that. So they remained safe, for now.

There had been some delegation to other A.I's too. While JARVIS had been busy with boss and other people inside the mansion, EDITH and VERONICA had gotten the duty to track the status of some people of interest. People like Dr. Stephen Strange, Dr. Chrsitine Palmer, Helen Cho, Dr. Wu, The Keener family, The Barton family, Scott Lang, Hank Pym, Hope Van dyne, etc. The Parker's should have been in the list, but there had no record of any May parker working where she was supposed to, or of a peter parker attending mid town high. FRIDAY would have marked it as one of the differences, but the death report of Richard and Mary's parker had paused that. So she continued searching.

Wakanda was still being a black point in her plans. She had been able to access their systems, but due to differences between different every tribe, she had to make changes in her coding, every time she entered some auxiliary system. Still, she had enough inroad that she was able to access the internal security systems, primarily the CCTV system. There had been no hacking attempts by the country yet, but that would change as soon as Starkanium and it's limited details were made public.

The break had also given her time to deal with two important conversations. The first one had taken less time than she had anticipated. Boss lady had been resting in her room when FRIDAY had decided to talk to her.

"Ms. Potts, I have some things to discuss with you. Would you mind if I do it now?"

She had set up on the bed before waving her on.

"No FRIDAY. What is it you want to talk about?"

"The rescue suit, Ms. Potts."

"What about the suit?"

"I would like to know about your thoughts about it. Are you comfortable wearing it in case of a necessity?"

She was silent for some time.

"If you had asked this question two days ago, the answer would have been no. Now, I don't know."

"May I know the reason behind the change of mind?"

"I don't like Tony wearing the suit. And I assume you already know my feelings for him. So I shouldn't like it. But my alternate self did. Not at the beginning maybe, but she did later on and even fought in it at her husband's side. A Pepper potts who is nearly the same to me. I know now what is coming in the future. So whatever I decide, will also affect my relationship with Tony."

"I would like to show you something, Ms. Potts."

"Go ahead."

She had played the video of her alternate self telling what she would do if she time-traveled. Boss lady was still in her position once it ended, with tears pooling in her eyes near the end.

"Please consider Morgan too in your final decision Ms. Potts. When she wakes up, she will still remember your alternate self. If your decision affects your relationship with Mr. Stark, it would affect Morgan too."

Her answer was filled with tears.

"I know. I am sure Tony has already started to accept her. 

I need time to think FRIDAY."

"As you wish, Ms. Potts. I would recommend deciding before Morgan wakes up."

"And what if I don't want to?"

FRIDAY's tone was as neutral as she could make while replying.

"There are some contingency plans for everything, Ms. Potts."

There wasn't any reply to that, so she had considered the conversation over.

The second conversation had been much longer. But she had expected the black widow to talk, so when it came, she was ready for it. It was the morning of the second day when she was addressed from the kitchen.

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Ms. Romanova"

"Is there any video message for me too?"

"Yes. I would suggest going back to your room, as the video is private."

She left without saying anything. FRIDAY played the video as soon as she had taken a seat in her room. It played on for more than 1 hour. But once it ended, the spy no longer looked like the dangerous black widow, she was supposed to be. Her eyes were red-shot and her face red. The neutral expression that always graced were missing. FRIDAY knew she was vulnerable from an emotional point of view right now, so she added another secret to it.

"That's not all Ms. Romanova. In my old dimension, Ms. Romanova found, that when she was kidnapped at a young age, not everyone in her blood family was killed. Her young brother and sister, twins at birth, somehow survived. They were both well and alive till the late- 2000s but were killed sometime after the fall of SHIELD, by persons unknown."

She had a strange look on her face now.

"Are they alive..."

She interrupted her, knowing what she was going to ask.

"Nikita Romanova is currently a Master's student at the University of Bonn, Germany while Nikolai Romanova is working as a Federal Police officer in the same city."

She displayed the images of two people in different places on the screen. Both images were quite clear, as FRIDAY had obtained it from their social media accounts. While Mr. Nikolai Romanova had black hair and same face structure as Ms. Natasha Romanova, the younger sister had the same hair and eye color.

"Why were they not found out earlier?"

"I assume because Ms. Romanova of my dimension never knew about them till long after the data dump. She mentioned that she had got her first leads from the hydra files that had been released."

After some minutes of silence, she abruptly stood up and started packing a few items she had of her own in the room.

"If your plans are to depart for Germany at this moment, I would request you to refrain yourself."

She asked while still carrying on the packing.

"Why?"

"Because SHIELD would know that something has happened to make you act out of ordinary. Your mission is to act as Mr. Stark's secretary and prepare an evaluation of him. Your travel plans would go against it."

She had stopped packing but was still prepared to move.

"I don't care about SHIELD right now."

"But I do, Ms. Romanova. Alerting SHIELD is not a factor in any of my current working plans."

"Are you going to stop me?"

"If I have to, definitely Ms. Romanova."

Her face had gone back to a neutral expression.

"You won't be able to hold me for long."

"I know that Ms. Romanova. But I don't have to stop you forever. Just long enough to resolve the matter of Vanko and Hammer."

She was silent for a long time., and then spoke up in a soft voice.

"I need to see them FRIDAY. I have to know."

"There is a way you could, without breaking your cover. Would you like to know about it?"

"Yes"

"SI's headquarters of Germany is in the city of Bonn. I would suggest you talk to Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts about it. They may be able to schedule a visit there soon and being Ms. Potts secretary, your presence along on the journey should not create an issue."

She spoke up after a long time.

"Thank you, FRIDAY. I will think about it."

She had left the spy as it were but was still tracking her continuously. So far she had not made any attempts to leave, or talk to Mr. Stark or Ms. Potts.

The Doctor's made the breakthrough as the sun dipped below the horizon on the third day. They discovered the reason behind Morgan still being in a coma and had prepared the cure by the next morning. FRIDAY had asked about the surety of cure, given the time they had taken. Boss reply was in his usual tone.

"I am going to take full offense on that FRIDAY. The data you provided was enough to find it. Me, Brucie bear and Lady Ross are the best science buddies. You should have expected even less time."

She had replied in the same tone while observing Dr. Banner muttering with his head in his hand and Ms. Ross laughing like anything.

"Sure, Mr. Stark. Who am I, just an Artificial Intelligence from the future with more processing power than all other systems in this country combined, to doubt the brilliant minds of an engineer, and two Biophysicists?"

Boss had opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it without saying anything.

Later he had muttered.

"Smart ass A.I."

11 hours later, they had the cure in their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	26. Morgan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some discussions happen. Help is asked and given.

Once the cure for Morgan's condition had been developed, FRIDAY had requested all three of them to rest. They had agreed, and plans were made to administer the cure after the breakfast. It gave FRIDAY enough time to once again go over all the results for any improvement. She also informed everyone who knew about her. As a result, once the three Dr's arrived in the kitchen, everyone was there. Even Colonel Rhodes had managed it.

TONY STARK

As the breakfast started, Nela was the one to address the topic.

"So what did you guys find. And when can we wake up the little munchkin?"

"First of all munchkin, really. Find an original one. We will administer the cure after breakfast. The best guess is that she would wake up 5-6 hours after that."

Pepper asked the next one.

"What will the cure do?"

"It will basically disable the extremis inside her body, rendering it unable to work, for some time."

"So extremis was the issue."

Bruce interrupted before he could answer.

"Yes and No. Extremis is the one keeping her in the coma, but it was not alone responsible for placing her in that. It seems that during the travel through the quantum realm, a little amount of quantum energy came in contact with Morgan. It may be due to damage in the outer casing of her compartment. We think that extremis present in her body reacted to the quantum energy. Somehow it decreased her age to save her from any unknown effect. It is possible that a large amount of extremis was spent during the process, dropping its level in her body to a critical point. Her brain recognizing it as an essential part of the body entered a state of coma, so it may recharge itself. Just like body shuts down itself, in case of any serious injuries."

Nela spoke up again, pointing her spoon at the suits present in the room.

"Then why has she not woken up yet. They have been here for a long time."

"That was the first question we had. Turns out the extremis had become so stable inside her, that it is not allowing the body to come out of it's repairing state, hence the coma."

Pepper spoke up again.

"And what about her mind Dr. Banner? Would she still be the same 8-year-old child or would she have a mind of a younger child? Would she remember anything?"

"We have no idea about that Ms. Potts. Her brain has been affected, There are some changes in the structure. But we won't know anything until she has woken up. While she may remember everything and have a mind of an 8-year-old child, it may also be possible that she doesn't remember anything."

"Call me Pepper. Is there any chance of problems in her brain?"

Finished with his breakfast, he took up the question, giving Bruce the time to eat.

"No, we checked. Every part of her brain was scanned. No type of damage to irregularity was visible. Whatever may happen once she wakes up, she won't be suffering from any mental or physical problem, well except the obvious de-aging issue."

There was a silence in the room as everyone processed that. The SHIELD agent asked an important question.

"What would be the cover story for Morgan. Because sooner or later someone will find about her existence."

His eyes jumped to pepper, and she was staring back at him. It was clear none of them had thought about that. He decided to ask the one with all the plans.

"FRIDAY?"

The A.I. was silent for a few moments.

"There are some options I have considered."

"And?"

"It may be better to discuss them with you and Ms. Potts privately."

He understood what she was saying, and moved to get up, but Pepper's voice paused him.

"No need FRIDAY. It is clear that you want to set her in the system as Me and Tony's child. We can discuss it everyone present."

Even though he knew what FRIDAY meant, Pepper's word froze his brain. The words "Tony's child" was all he could think about.

"Yes, Ms. Potts. That is one of the options."

He absent-mindedly noticed Natasha's eyes narrowing.

"What are the other options FRIDAY?"

"Ms. Stark has agreed to accept Morgan as her daughter or sister, in case Mr. Stark is not ready for it."

And that jump-started his brain again. He all but shouted.

"But she is too young."

He could feel everyone's glare on him.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. But she is a legal adult. With a little help from me, It would be quite easy to create a case of teen pregnancy."

Rhodey was the one to ask the sensible question.

"That would make her age as 15 when Morgan was born. A lot of questions will be asked. And when she eventually comes in eyes of the press, they will crucify both of them."

Nela answered it with a shrug.

"I have never cared what anyone says about me. As for the press, I am sure FRIDAY will take care of them. And girls have been birthing babies, at an age younger than that for centuries."

He was done with the silly arguments.

"Stop everyone. None of this is going to happen. She will be registered as my daughter. "

Pepper added immediately.

"And mine too."

He pushed that back in his mind, something to panic about later. He was sure FRIDAY's voice was smug.

"Then I will start preparing a document trail for her birth and explanations needed for it."

He was holding his head in his hands now, pointedly ignoring Rhodey's sniggering.

"Do so FRIDAY."

"I would also like to inform that SHIELD had dispatched a ship towards Valkyrie's sighting point. In 11 days, the ship will be in a position to access it and retrieve Mr. Roger's body."

That news sobered everyone up. He didn't know what to feel. Knowing what the good captain could do, his feelings were pretty jumbled at this point. So he just ignored them. Fortunately, his Science buddy gave him an excuse to do that.

"I think we should apply the cure now. It will take some time to work after that."

"Sure, Let's go."

He went towards the lab to get the vial, while everyone else moved towards the room Morgan was in.

FRIDAY

FRIDAY watched as Dr. Banner administered the cure, while she constantly scanned her sister's body for any change. A minute after the syringe was removed from her arm, she recorded the first change in her condition, in days. Her blood flow increased, while the body temperature wavered a little from the consistent 41 degrees. 

"The expected changes are happening, Dr. Banner. Readings are normal."

"It should take about 5 hours for her body to come out of the coma. All we can do is wait now."

Boss lady suddenly stood up from where she was sitting.

"I will be back before noon. I have something to do."

She left before anyone could say anything. Boss stood to follow her, but Virgil stopped him.

"Let me talk to her. You stay here."

He left, followed by Nela and Colonel Rhodes. Everyone except Ms. Romanova and Boss also left, promising to be back before noon. Boss spoke before she could.

"How can I help you, Natalie? Or should I call you Natasha? I am not sure."

"Call me Natasha or Nat."

"I didn't know we were on the level to call each other by nicknames Natasha."

"Yet"

Boss just stared at her, while Ms. Romanova stood silent.

"What can I do for you?"

FRIDAY had expected her to move around the topic for some time, but she came to point immediately, so unlike the black widow.

" I have a brother and sister in Bonn, Germany that I didn't know about. I can't visit there anytime soon without alerting SHIELD about them."

She didn't say anything after that. It seemed there was still some resistance left in her. Luckily, boss didn't disappoint FRIDAY.

"Well, it seems we would be visiting our headquarters in Germany soon. JARVIS would you inform Pepper about this, and make sure everything is ready for her."

"Yes, Sir."

"Thank you J. Since you are her secretary Natashalie, I would suggest getting ready for an international trip soon."

"Thank You"

"No need, although know that, the 'yet' you mentioned, won't be anytime soon."

"I know"

"Glad we are on the same page."

"There is one more thing I want to discuss with you and FRIDAY."

"Legolas? What about him?"

"I want to bring him in too."

"No. His comments in the raft were a pretty good indication of what he thought about my alternate self."

"I know. FRIDAY would you please play the part where he is mentioned, in the message for me."

"Yes, Ms. Romanova."

FRIDAY used the suit in the room, to project the image of Natasha Romanova of her old universe. The difference in their age was clear with their voice.

"Clint was never the same after Ultron. Before that, he considered Tony a good friend. He never forgot that Tony gave him space to live after Loki. He was relieved to be away from other SHIELD agents, after everything he had done under mind control. Something changed after Sokovia. Laura told me many times, that Clint had got aggressive and was quick to anger. He never did anything to her or the children, but the anger was always there. He was also quite persistent in changing Nate's middle name to Pietro. Laura said they had a big fight before she went with it. I don't know whether it was Wanda or something leftover from Loki. But something turned Clint into what he was. Something unnatural."

FRIDAY paused the video there. Boss spoke up soon after.

"You believe her?"

"Clint is not like what I saw. If he ever gets mind-controlled, he won't ever be comfortable with anyone who can do that, for the rest of his life. The comment in the raft about watching their back. Trust me, he would never say it to anyone he ever considered a friend."

"FRIDAY?"

Assuming what boss was asking about, FRIDAY went through everything she had on the archer. Every observation she or JARVIS had made on him, his SHIELD reports, His activities Pre and Post snap. It took her 5.5 seconds to process and answer.

"Ms. Romanova's observation is not wrong. Mr. Barton behaviour did change a lot. His SHIELD and Accords report mention it. Mr. Barton also became Ms. Maximoff's strongest supporter after Mr. Rogers, which was the complete opposite of his behaviour with her, before the fight with ULTRON." 

She inserted Clint and his family as a factor, in all her plans, checking for effects they would have. The positive far outweighed the negative. She made the decision.

"Bringing Mr. Barton in may be beneficial Mr. Stark. Along with his skills as a Sniper and SHIELD agent, his children are young and would be close to Morgan's age. His wife is an ex-shield agent, with a Master’s degree in economics."

Ms. Romanova's surprise was evident in her voice.

"Laura was a SHIELD agent?"

"Yes, Ms. Romanova. She worked in the finance department of SHIELD and resigned a few months before her marriage. Her file and documents are stored in Director Fury's personal servers."

Boss was grinning now.

"How did you get access to one-eyed pirate's server FRIDAY?"

"I have access to every Level 9 and above SHIELD agents private server's Mr. Stark. And yes Ms. Romanova, that includes you."

There was no response from the spy. Boss replied after thinking for some time.

"If it's okay with you FRIDAY, bring him in. If he and Laura agree, inform pepper to hire her for the Missouri office for time-being."

"Will do, Mr. Stark."

"He is at the farm right now FRIDAY. You can talk to him now."

"Sure, Ms. Romanova."

She turned and left the room. FRIDAY waited, knowing boss would ask soon.

"Are you really sure Fry?"

She felt something, which she was sure was happiness, at the familiar nickname. 

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Mr. Barton and Ms. Romanova are going to be quite helpful in the future."

"And if they are not happy with it"?

She admitted easily what she thought.

"I don't care much. Mr. Stark."

After a few minutes of silence, Boss spoke again.

"Once everything settles down, we are going to talk about that."

FRIDAY didn't know what was there to talk about it, but she agreed anyway.

"As you say, Mr. Stark."

TONY STARK

6 hours after Natasha left the room, he once again took his place by Morgan's side. He had left an hour earlier to help Nela with an issue she was facing in the suit, and also give him time center himself. Looking around, he decided it was the best decision he had made since waking up. Pepper was pacing around the room, while Rhodey was constantly tapping his leg. Nela was sitting next to Morgan, her hands holding the smaller girl's hand, while Virgil was alternately looking at her and Morgan. Even Mordo and Natasha looked a little less normal. The only one normal in the room was Bruce and Elizabeth, which was saying something.

FRIDAY had informed them about the drop in Morgan's temperature to normal levels, and the increased brain activity. She was sure Morgan would wake up in few minutes.

He was still not sure what his thoughts were about Morgan. He had never thought about having kids. His childhood had left a lot of doubts about his parental abilities. Even when he had seen his alternate self's better than most parenting, he was not sure about himself. What if he couldn't do it, because of not being her real father. How would that affect the little girl?. What if he screwed up big time? If was more like when not if. He just didn't know. A soft gasp broke his concentration. Turning, his eyes locked onto another set of eyes, brown, same as him.

Morgan had woken up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	27. Filler+ Some info

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is just a smart section before the next chapter , information about the suits everyone would be wearing, and casting about the original characters. None of the images are mine, so credit where credit is due.

TONY STARK  
  
He kept on staring at those eyes, hoping to find something. But he couldn't get anything. Morgan opened her mouth but didn't say anything. A movement in the periphery caught his eyes. Bruce was extending a glass full of a mixture, with a straw in it, towards him.  
  
"Her body is dehydrated. She needs to drink this."  
  
His body moved automatically, taking the glass and placing the tip of the straw at her lips. The eyes while still focused on him, took a glance at the straw, and then snapped back at him. He tried giving a smile. Whatever he did, was good enough that Morgan moved to touch the straw. Slowly she started drinking. Once the glass became half-empty, she pushed her head back, eyes once again staring at him. He tried to say something, but his mind was empty. He couldn't think of a single thing.  
  
"Daddy"  
  
His mind went into overdrive, thinking and discarding possible responses, the first he would give his future daughter. What came out, was not because of his conscious decision.  
  
"Hey Morgan"  
  
Something changed immediately. Her hand, which was moving towards him, stopped in between. Her eyes moved from him, landing on Pepper just behind him.  
  
"Mommy"  
  
He waited for Pepper to say something, but nothing came. Morgan's face took a look, which he couldn't explain. Her eyes moved on, passing over others and stopped at the suit in the room. This time her voice was clear, not like the questioning tone she had before.  
  
"FRIDAY"  
  
FRIDAY's projection immediately came on.  
|  
"Hello, Morgan. How are you feeling now?"  
  
A smile came upon her face, her gaze fixed on the projection.  
  
"Hurts"  
  
"I know. It will be okay. Boss and Boss lady are here."  
  
His mind, which had kept on going, and was analysing everything, sputtered to a stop. He knew who FRIDAY called 'Boss' and 'Boss Lady'. They were Morgan's parents. But now she had called him and Pepper with the same name. But they were not her parents. His ears started feeling a little warm, and he could feel his breath coming slow. He had to get out of here, but his body wasn't responding any more. Then Morgan's eyes focused back on him, and all thoughts of leaving fled his mind. After a brief look at Pepper and FRIDAY's projection, her hand once again moved. A small palm moved under his, and slowly curled around. He still couldn't move.  
  
"Tireddd.."  
  
The tone of the word and fluttering eyes broke through everything else. Her eyes closed before the words formed in his mouth.  
  
"Bruce"  
  
The alarms started ringing a second later.

  
============================================================  
  
1) Nela's armor (got it from pintrest by imgarcade.com)

  
  
  
  
  
  
2) Tony's armor- Mark 47   
  
  
  
  
3) Warmachine armor Mark VII

  
  
4) Rescue armor  
  
  
  
5) Nela (suggested by my girlfriend. don't know her name. If anybody does, do tell me).  
  
  
  
6) Virgil(once again, no idea who he is)  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/reviews/suggestion are welcome.


	28. Morality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony, pepper and FRIDAY have a talk. Tony's thought on Nela's suit and other things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name of Nela's cast is Emeraude Toubia and Virgil's is Stefano Masciolini. Thank you to everyone who informed me that.

TONY STARK

He kept on staring at those eyes, hoping to find something. But he couldn't get anything. Morgan opened her mouth but didn't say anything. A movement in the periphery caught his eyes. Bruce was extending a glass full of a mixture, with a straw in it, towards him.

"Her body is dehydrated. She needs to drink this."

His body moved automatically, taking the glass and placing the tip of the straw at her lips. The eyes while still focused on him, took a glance at the straw, and then snapped back at him. He tried giving a smile. Whatever he did, was good enough that Morgan moved to touch the straw. Slowly she started drinking. Once the glass became half-empty, she pushed her head back, eyes once again staring at him. He tried to say something, but his mind was empty. He couldn't think of a single thing.

"Daddy"

His mind went into overdrive, thinking and discarding possible responses, the first he would give his future daughter. What came out, was not because of his conscious decision.

"Hey Morgan"

Something changed immediately. Her hand, which was moving towards him, stopped in between. Her eyes moved from him, landing on Pepper just behind him.

"Mommy"

He waited for Pepper to say something, but nothing came. Morgan's face took a look, which he couldn't explain. Her eyes moved on, passing over others and stopped at the suit in the room. This time her voice was clear, not like the questioning tone she had before.

"FRIDAY"

FRIDAY's projection immediately came on.  
|  
"Hello, Morgan. How are you feeling now?"

A smile came upon her face, her gaze fixed on the projection.

"Hurts"

"I know. It will be okay. Boss and Boss lady are here."

His mind, which had kept on going, and was analysing everything, sputtered to a stop. He knew who FRIDAY called 'Boss' and 'Boss Lady'. They were Morgan's parents. But now she had called him and Pepper with the same name. But they were not her parents. His ears started feeling a little warm, and he could feel his breath coming slow. He had to get out of here, but his body wasn't responding anymore. Then Morgan's eyes focused back on him, and all thoughts of leaving fled his mind. After a brief look at Pepper and FRIDAY's projection, her hand once again moved. A small palm moved under his, and slowly curled around. He still couldn't move.

"Tireddd.."

The tone of the word and fluttering eyes broke through everything else. Her eyes closed before the words formed in his mouth.

"Bruce"

The alarms started ringing a second later.

FRIDAY

She took a few moments to assess everything once the emergency was passed. When the alarms had started sounding, her data flow had frozen for micro-seconds, before resuming. She had immediately scanned Morgan again, checking her vitals along the way. At first, everything seemed normal, except her heart, which was beating at a much faster rate, and her brain, which was once again shutting down. A few minutes later, the reason became apparent. A small amount of extremis was still fighting the cure in her brain and had been using its host's energy to continue the fight. After a little deliberation, Dr. Banner suggested inserting an IV line with glucose, and let it be. Extremis won't be able to hold on for long, even using Morgan's energy. After reviewing the data, FRIDAY had agreed to it and watched carefully as Dr. Banner inserted the IV line. She then turned her attention to other people in the room.

Boss lady had left the room hurriedly, followed by Miss Romonova, after the alarms had sounded. She was in the process of locating her when Ms. Ross spoke up.

"I will talk to Pepper. You guys stay here."

She left the room along with Virgil and Mr. Hogan. Seeing Mr. Stark still frozen in his seat, Mordo and Dr. Banner also excused themselves. Colonel Rhodes and Ms. Stark stayed though. Colonel Rhodes placed a hand on boss's shoulder.

"Tony?"

The reply came in a soft voice.

"I am not ready."

He started standing up, ready to leave. FRIDAY could not allow him to do so, Morgan would need him soon.

"Sit down. Mr. Stark"

He immediately sat down, turning to look towards her projection.

"FRIDAY?"

"May I know why are you leaving?"

"I cannot. I am not ready for this....."

She took some time to prepare her response, while Boss kept on speaking. It seemed to her that the pressure of everything that had happened in the past few days had caught up with him. She had to make him understand, without giving him an excuse to run.

"I cannot say I understand your reason, Mr. Stark. But please consider this, She recognized you. Once she wakes up, she would look for you again. Her last memory of you is possibly of your funeral before today. She would be confused and scared. If you are going to take her responsibility, you have to stay, Mr. Stark. You can't keep running away."

He didn't say anything after that. FRIDAY would have said more, but something in her last words had stuck him. His expression had changed from panic to resignation. So FRIDAY waited. But nothing came from him. Rather Nela was the one to speak.

"Why are you so scared, Tony?"

The answer was enough to explain it even to her.

"Howard"

She watched as a look of understanding came on Nela's face.

"You cannot let the past rule over your future."

She stood up and left for the lab, taking Colonel Rhodes with her. Once outside of Boss hearing range, she addressed her.

"Give him time to think FRIDAY. He will get it."

FRIDAY accepted her advice and didn't say anything more. Boss lady came back after 15 mins and took a seat on Morgan's other side. No words were spoken by either of them.

An hour later, FRIDAY once again performed a brain scan of Morgan. The remaining extremis had also been disabled.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts, the extremis had been deactivated from her brain. She is just sleeping now."

"Is she going to wake up soon?" yeards 

"I don't believe so Mr. Stark. Her vitals are indicating that she is in a deep sleep."

"That'd good."

Not willing to let the silence go on, FRIDAY decided to share some of her progress.

"Mr. Stark, I would like to inform you that all the files required for explaining Morgan, Ms. Stark, and Mr. Pott's existence have been inserted in the required systems. "

"Oh. What story did you create for each of them."

"Mr. Potts has been registered as Ms. Potts cousin according to her wish. His parents are Her Uncle and Aunt, who went missing during a trekking adventure. They had a farm near the City of Waco, Texas, which has been under Ms. Potts's name for 19 years."

Boss lady interrupted her, answering boss's raised eyebrows.

"It's small, far away from the city, and has been operational all the time. The employees working there are trustworthy."

Boss gave a soft laugh at her casual answer.

"And Nela and Morgan?"

"Ms. Stark's birth certificates have her born in NYC Health+ hospital in Harlem, 18 years ago. The record doesn't mention anything about the mother, and Ms. Stark is shown to been sent to a public orphanage which has been closed down 9 years ago. Her story would be that she lived off the streets since then so there won't be any other records needed. For her getting in touch with you, I would suggest making Mr. Stane hiding everything about her from you. You discovered about her earlier this year, and found her a little while ago."

"Doesn't that seem quite convenient FRIDAY?"

"Maybe Mr. Stark. But it has the least chances to be proved fake in most scenarios."

"Hmm, Morgan?"

"Her DNA process indicates her age to be 3 years old. Officially, 3 years 4 months before today, Ms. Potts had taken a 2-month leave for personal issues. The leave information is marked in SI servers. Morgan's birth is marked as home-birth at the farm in Waco, Texas with a reputed Obstetrician in attendance, who died a year before today due to heart issues."

"And nobody noticed her pregnant state?"

"Ms. Potts travelled a lot during that time duration along with you Mr. Stark. Some records and information had to be erased or changed, but a duration of 4 months has been marked when Ms. Potts didn't appear in public at all."

Boss was smiling widely now, but boss lady had a frown on her face.

"I can understand the digital records, but how did you manage the physical ones FRIDAY?"

"Some necessary persons were employed for the job temporarily, and some people were given Monetary donations."

Boss smile had vanished at that statement.

"You bribed them FRIDAY. With what money?. There will be records for that."

"it can be defined as such Mr. Stark, not necessarily though. No money transfer could be connected to SI or Mr. Stark. The amount was channelled through European banks, and came from accounts of Drug-dealers across the world."

Boss Lady's face was quite red, while Boss was just staring at her projection. FRIDAY didn't know the reason behind such a reaction.

"Is there a problem, Ms. Potts?"

"Of course there is a problem. You used drug money to bribe people to change records in the public systems. There are a lot of problems in that FRIDAY."

"I am sorry Ms. Potts. But I am unable to understand what problems are. The transaction done ensured that no connection could be made to Mr. Stark or SI, the changes were necessary to prove Morgan's existence and the donation helped in making them."

Boss was the one to answer.

"It's moral problems FRIDAY. It's not morally correct to bribe, or use Drug money for anything."

"I don't have any moral objections with what I have done Mr. Stark. It was necessary and was done without leaving any chance of repercussions. That's all that matters."

Nobody said anything, so she considered the matter closed. She did have some more things to discuss.

"Mr. Hammer and Mr. Vanko would be dealt with by this evening. Ms. Potts, have you decided what would be SI's response on that."

Boss lady stopped shaking her head at that and answered after a few moments.

"We would release a statement about what we know about the incident, and information about any relief works. Tony doesn't want any focus on the Arc-reactor technology, So no mention of it would be made. Your recommendation about explaining Tony's Palladium poisoning, Starkanium, and 'War-machine' Armor will also be done in the same press conference. Tony has agreed on that."

FRIDAY hadn't expected Boss to agree on the Palladium issue. Doing so would give some sympathy point for his behaviour in past months, and would also ruin some of the SHIELD's plan at the same time. She had planned to talk to him on that again, but it was not needed now.

"I do have an additional suggestion, and I would like both of your opinion on that."

"Go ahead, FRIDAY."

"The information about Ms. Stark and Morgan would be released 2 days from now. The source would be marked as one of the nannies recruited by Mr. Stark in the past 2 years, and she wishes to remain anonymous. This would provide enough material to the press at the same time, that none of them would be focused individually. It will also help in improving Mr. Stark's public image, by mentioning his past activity as fake, most of the time."

FRIDAY had started hating the silence that appeared every time she had to discuss something. She understood human beings took more time to process through everything, but that didn't mean she liked it.  
Boss spoke up soon after.

"Your idea has merit, FRIDAY. But are we ready to bring Morgan and Nela is the public's eye. Is Nela herself ready for that?"

"She is Mr. Stark. As long as she doesn't need to interact with the press, she is okay with her existence to be known publically."

Boss and Boss lady were now looking at each other, but not saying anything. After a few moments, Boss lady released a deep breath.

"I will inform the PR department about this too. What about SHIELD, FRIDAY? Won't they react to all this new information?"

"Any SHIELD action regarding us would be noticed by me, as soon as it is ordered. I have access over their main-frame and complete control over major weapon systems."

Ms. Potts was looking straight at her projection now.

"You are really scary sometimes, FRIDAY."

She once again used her most neutral tone.

"Thank you for appreciating my efforts, Ms. Potts."

She was sure their following laughter would wake up Morgan, but she still slept through.

TONY STARK

After the discussion with FRIDAY, he had left for his lab, intending to help Nela with her suit. The framework had been nearly ready, and they were now working in the weapons. The design Nela had finalized was much leaner than his suit, but more deadly. The weapon systems she was going to install in the suit, were city-destroying weapons. Even the mini-missiles were enough to destroy a building in one hit. Initially, she had refused to share details about her weapons with him, but once he had convinced her of not manufacturing them for sale, she had done so. There were very few personal weapons in her database. Most of them were large area impact weapons, which was understandable given the situation in her dimension. Another thing that the suit had different from his was that it was highly customizable, in a very short amount of time. She had designed for multiple packages type system, which would be attached to the basic framework, depending upon the situation. The Uni-beam had been removed, and the power supply to repulsors was increased. Tony had enquired about that.

"I am not going to use it in regular situations that may happen in the future. This suit would be used specifically for the fight against Thanos, or any other alien invasion. I would be making another suit for close combat with different specifications."

"Would it differ much from this one?"

"Yes. The children of Thanos would be arriving with him. Dealing with them would require it."

He had wanted to know more but the fierce expression on her face had stopped from pushing. 

As Nela had been doing most of the designing and manufacturing process, he had taken over the software part. With her and DIANA's permission, the modification of JARVIS and DIANA had been started to act as their suit's A.I. FRIDAY had been really helpful there. He had thought that JARVIS was ready for it, but the data FRIDAY had shared with them, had proved that wrong. He had also helped Nela to upgrade Diana's defence system, making her as secure as JARVIS. 

FRIDAY had a request on her own after that. And hearing the reason behind the request had made him determined to do it as soon as possible. KAREN's base coding was already halfway done. A few days more, and he would be ready to bring her online.

When he entered his lab, the scene which greeted him was the same as in the past 2 days. Nela was arguing something with DIANA. The A.I. was much freer with her words than JARVIS had ever been. Even FRIDAY with all her advancements didn't speak as much as DIANA did. Dum-E was moving around with his fire extinguisher, while his other two bots were playing around with their dimensional counterparts.

He had built the same body as DUM-E, U, and Butterfingers on FRIDAY's request, in his free time. She had uploaded the data from her old dimension's bots as soon as he was done, bringing them online soon after. And what a scene had it been. The bots from other dimensions had crowded him with so many noises, that he had fallen from his chair. After that, the bots had advanced towards his creations. He didn't know what they had talked about, but he was sure that now DUM-E competed with DUM-E 2 in everything, while U and BUTTERFINGERS were best friends with their dimensional counterparts.

His life was strange.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	29. Vanko and Hammer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanko and hammer are dealt with. It's aftermath. Other preparations continue.

(24 hours later)

FRIDAY

The plan to deal with Hammer and Vanko went exactly as FRIDAY had planned. Possibly, even better in some cases. None of the police force raiding had been injured, and Justin Hammer had been caught red-handed in meeting with Vanko. As expected, Vanko had taken control over the drones to fight back, but FRIDAY had initiated their self-destruction mode, as soon as they had moved. The resulting chaos had given her enough cover to destroy every arc-reactor present in Hammer properties, and also remove any information that was stored in Hammer Tech mainframe about it. She could have done it earlier too, but that would have gained attention and the possibility of boss being blamed was there. So she had waited until this moment. She had left some drones to continue their destruction for some time. So when the videos of drones, painted in US armed forces colours, destroying property around Hammer warehouse, and firing upon police forces, came out, FRIDAY was very pleased. 

She had expected that once the news reaches Boss and Colonel Rhodes, they would have questions for her. While Boss didn't pay much attention to the drones that were visible in videos, Colonel Rhodes didn't disappoint her. He came in the next day during breakfast, looking quite agitated. Boss also saw his mood.

"What happened Sugar-Plum? You don't look happy happy."

"Did you see the news on Hammer warehouse incident."

"Yeah, what about it. The police force handled it perfectly. And FRIDAY told me she used it to destroy everything they had on arc-reactor."

"Did you see the Drones in Us Armed forces Colors, destroying public property, and attacking the police force?"

Boss was silent for a second. He immediately turned to face her projection, which she had started forming every time they ate together. It also gave reassurance to Morgan, who was sitting next to her projection in her own seat and playing with her food. The rest of the eyes followed soon. Ms. Romanova and Boss lady were smiling, while the rest of them were staring with confused faces.

"You allowed it to happen. Didn't you FRIDAY?"

She had no problem answering boss's question.

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"Why?"

Now this answer was where she had to be careful. She couldn't let them be suspicious of her plans.

"By allowing the public to see Rogue drones in US armed forces attacking, I have created a scenario where the military would not in a position to strongly demand for Iron Man technology. The incident would be seen as their failed attempt to acquire it and it's repercussions. When the "War machine' suit will be handed over to Colonel Rhodes, it would be seen as Mr. Stark helping the US armed forces, by himself. Any condition that he may have, like allowing only Colonel Rhodes to access it, or No research or weaponization of suit technologies without Mr. Stark's permission, would be accepted easily and without much modification. It will also stop the US government and The Senate from pressuring Mr. Stark to hand over the suit any more."

While everyone seemed to understand her point, Colonel Rhodes still seemed to be against it.

"They need the suit, FRIDAY."

"No Colonel. Needing means that they require it because it's essential, it's not. They don't need it, they want it."

He didn't seem to have an answer to that, so he focussed on something else.

"You cannot make the US armed forces look bad in such a way. It's not correct, FRIDAY."

FRIDAY had enough.

"With respect Colonel, I can do whatever I want. The US military is nowhere near anything I care for. My strategy to deal with them is decided by me, and me alone. What patriotic feeling you have for your country's armed forces, doesn't matter to me."

The silence that followed was broke by Boss after some time. FRIDAY would have considered the matter closed, but there was still something she had to say. She turned her projection, which was playing with Morgan, to stare straight at Colonel.

"You once promised me something, Colonel. Your actions today are quite close to being the complete opposite of it. Should I take it that you are reconsidering your decision?"

Colonel Rhodes mood had changed completely now. Whereas he was angry and agitated when he came in, now he looked shocked. She had no doubt he had understood what she meant by her question. His answer came quite softly.

"No"

"That's good, Colonel. Please remember my words after your promise. I meant what I said."

"I do"

FRIDAY let colonel after that, focusing her projection back on Morgan, who was refusing to drink the medicine Dr. Banner had suggested. The man himself spoke up sometime later.

"Mind telling what you two were talking about?"

Boss followed him soon after.

"I would like to know too."

"Nothing interesting Dr. Banner. Just a small conversation about Colonel Rhodes responsibilities."

Her tone made it clear that no more explanation would be given. Colonel Rhodes had left soon after that. Boss and Boss lady had tried asking her again at different times, but she had refused to answer, citing it as a personal matter between her and Colonel.

She had expected him to not come back for some days, but he had arrived by the next morning. Although he had not spoken to her at all, rather spending all his time talking to Morgan, or reading up on the War machine suit. He had also started flying Mark 2 for training. FRIDAY knew without an A.I. in the suit, he would never be able to completely control the War machine suit. In her old dimension, first JARVIS, and then she had acted as the Suit's A.I. She didn't want the same thing to happen here so after a brief discussion with Boss, JARVIS, and EDITH, the suit was being programmed to let EDITH help Colonel in using the suit. When enquired about the reason for suggesting EDITH, she had cleared another of her plan. Since Colonel Rhodes would be sharing the command of Avengers with Boss, EDITH's programming would be helpful for him.

Thinking about Morgan had brought another list of issues for her. Morgan once awake, had not shown the same behaviour she had when the left the past dimension. She still recognized Mordo and Ms. Romanova but did not act the way she did after Boss and Boss lady's death. It looked like she didn't remember their deaths, but remembered everything else. Ms. Ross had theorized that maybe extremis had removed any traumatic memories while it was trying to protect her. None of them had ever thought that extremis may be able to do so, but there hadn't been any other possible explanation. So FRIDAY had accepted it for time being.

Morgan was quite a happy child these days, which had pleased FRIDAY. Boss was spending quite a lot of time with her and already created a range of toys for her. Friday had prevented him from ordering a complete nursery for her, managing him to convince him to do it once they had moved to New-York mansion. Ms. Potts also spent her most of the time she was in the mansion, with Morgan. FRIDAY could see both of them were not fully comfortable, but they were working on it. That was enough for her. Nela absolutely adored Morgan, choosing to spend every minute out of the lab with her. Morgan had easily accepted her and would often search for her when she was busy. While Ms. Romanova had maintained her distance for some reason, DR. Banner, Ms. Ross, Mordo, and Mr. Hogan would also spend some time with her every day. Virgil was another one to avoid Morgan every time he could, which FRIDAY had planned to ask about soon.

The fabrication of the Suits had reached in their final phase. It would have been done already, but with Mr. Stark insistence on being involved with every part and phase, and the construction of Nela's suit at the same time, the process had been delayed. 

After a detailed discussion with boss, the construction of nanites had been started on a small scale. Since FRIDAY lacked the machinery required to fabricate them on her own, Boss had been the one to construct them for time-being. Once the shifting process would be near completion, FRIDAY would order the parts required to make the fabricators.

The shifting process had started two days back, with the non-essential items first to be packed. Boss's cars and things like that had already been moved. The rest of the items would follow soon after the conference. His suits, the bots, and other important items would be transferred under the care of Mr. Hogan. Everyone except Nela, Virgil, Dr. Banner, and Ms. Ross would be leaving by Boss's private plane a day before the conference. The rest would be using the suits, as Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross wanted to avoid any attention, while Nela wanted to test her new suit, and Virgil wanted to keep an eye on her.

The planning for the press conference was also nearly complete. The statement and the speech SI's PR department had come up with, was already reviewed by Boss and Boss lady. Boss made a lot of changes in them, especially in matters of Starkanium, his Palladium poisoning, and the details about Morgan and Nela. Mainly, he had added some minute details about the first two, while removing a lot from the last one. Boss lady had tried to change it, but he had been insistent.

Two days before they would leave for New York, Ms. Romanova addressed her during the dinner. Everyone was present, as it was last time before they would all be there for a long time. While Colonel Rhodes would be busy with War Machine armour, boss and boss lady had a lot of work to do in the future. It was also not sure whether Ms. Romanova would still be assigned to boss once he moved to New York.

"There are some interesting rumors flowing in SHIELD cafeterias, FRIDAY. It seems an American superhero has recently been found, as is being transported to New York office soon."

"The rumour is correct Ms. Romanova. Steve Rogers was recovered from the crashed Valkyrie three days ago. His body was found encased in an iceblock and was brought on the SHIELD ship two days ago. The vibranium shield was also recovered and is being transported along with him."

FRIDAY was observing boss's reaction during her answer, as there had been no comment or question by him on the topic, since the night of the party. There was no reaction this time also. She decided to ask him later on as Ms. Romanova was still speaking.

"I thought you would have some different plans for him, considering what his dimension counterpart did."

She knew the spy was looking for information, but for whom, that was still a mystery. Still, FRIDAY had no problem answering her, as her plan would be clear to everyone in a few months. 

"While Mr. Roger's history is nearly the same as the one in my old dimension, there is a chance that he may be different here. So Mr. Rogers will be receiving the benefit of the doubt until he proves otherwise."

"And if he proves otherwise?"

FRIDAY had to really wonder at this point whether she should answer or not. She took her time, going through possible scenarios that may happen, the benefits and dangers, and came to a conclusion. She would answer the question.

"There is a medicine, for the lack of better term which can remove the serum invented by Dr. Abraham Erskine from a human body."

Dr. Banner head immediately snapped toward her projection.

"Can it.."

"No Dr. Banner. The version of serum present in your body is very different from the one in Mr. Rogers. Also, the serum in your body was activated by gamma radiation, while the one in Mr. Roger's body was by "Vita Rays". Boss tried to do the same with your alternate self's blood, but every trial failed."

"I would like to study the information you have."

"I am sorry Dr. Banner, but that would not be possible."

The atmosphere in the room immediately tensed.

"Why?"

"The data in those files is detailed enough for a capable person to create the serum itself. Given the events connected to it, it would be better for humanity if it doesn't happen anytime soon."

Boss was the one to find a discrepancy in her answer.

"You said anytime soon. Do you have plans to manufacture the serum in the future, FRIDAY?"

"No, Mr. Stark. But we know the future would bring things on earth, which were thought impossible to exist. If the conditions become such that it is needed, the plan for serum manufacture will be made."

The rest of the dinner was spent in silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/review/suggestions are welcome.


	30. Penny Parker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The topic of Penny parker comes up. The suits are online and ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3 chapters till the Invasion. I would be changing a lot of things in that part, so the background will be prepared in next three chapters.

1 month 11 days after the party)

As soon as the last panel was fitted in the "War Machine" Armor, FRIDAY opened the links for the respective A.I.'s to take over. A second later, the suits were online.

Boss's Mark 47 had got its color changed on his request and now was in a mix of Black and Silver, while the reactor and eye slits still glowed blue. FRIDAY checked with JARVIS, for any issues in integrating with the armor. Receiving all okay from JARVIS, she checked on the other three armors. Colonel Rhodes's 'War Machine' armor was in its original design color; Red and blue, mixed with silver here and there. The reactor and slits were red in color, and EDITH had settled in quite comfortably. Nela's armor was a mix of blue and black, with the design differences quite clear in it. Its reactor and slits shone with a light yellow color, making its difference from other suits clear. DIANA had taken a little longer to adapt to the suit then FRIDAY had expected, but she was there now. The last suit, the one Boss lady may wear in the future, was very different from the rescue suit. FRIDAY had changed a lot of things in the design, consulting boss and boss lady in it too, and the result showed. The face-plate was much sleeker than any other suit, and the only weapons were the uni-beam and repulsers. It could be folded down in the form of a suitcase, also be summoned if needed. As JARVIS brought it online, the reactor glowed orange in color. After a brief discussion, boss had agreed to bring another A.I. to run Boss lady's suit, who would also act as her secretary in SI. So the work on TADASHI had started, with plans to bring her online with KAREN.

Thinking about KAREN brought another issue FRIDAY needed to discuss with Boss and Boss lady soon. She had realized her mistake in searching through mid-town high school. Peter Parker was still a kid at this time, so she had searched the elementary schools for him. While she didn't find a peter parker in any school, her search algorithms had located one penny parker in one of the schools. Checking up on that, the names of May and Ben Parker had come up. FRIDAY had not expected that This had been the biggest difference she had recorded in both dimensions till now. She decided to check everything else once again, dedicating a large part of her processing power to do it and kept the main focus on Parkers. It seemed with Ben parker alive and earning, the parker family lived in a much better locality, with May parker working in another hospital instead of one, FRIDAY had thought about. 

The day when Ben Parker was supposed to die would also come up soon, and FRIDAY was not sure what to do. Her initial decision had been to let it happen, but she had not considered the emotional effect it may have on Parkers. With peter being penny, the situation could become more difficult. So she had decided to talk to Boss, Boss lady, Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross about that. And today seemed to be a good time for that.

Once the suits were checked for any issues, everyone in the lab assembled in the mansion Hall. The moving process had been completed a week ago, with FRIDAY herself installing multiple security systems around the mansion. Since it was already well-equipped, they did not have to bring in much. Well, expect things Mr. Stark needed. Three different labs had been built in less than a week in the mansion's basement, with a load of equipment. Morgan's room had also been completed a day before, with Boss, Boss lady, and Nela designing everything. The main dining table had been shifted to the hall, and now acted as a conference table.

While the five residents took their place on the table, FRIDAY checked with others. MS. Romanova was in a meeting with Mr. Fury and Ms. Hill, informing them about Morgan and Nela's existence, just as planned. Colonel Rhodes was en route from an Air force base in Florida to New York for the conference scheduled for three days later, while Nela and Virgil were out watching a movie with Mr. Hogan. Mordo had been appearing less and less since they had moved, busy with his research at Kamar-Taj. As everyone started eating, FRIDAY addressed them all.

"There is an important topic I would like to discuss with you all."

"What is it FRIDAY?"

"In the video, that was seen by every one of you, there was a teenage named Peter Parker, who fought as Spiderman."

Boss's voice had a large amount of interest in it.

"Right, Underoos. Did you find him here?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark. I did. But do you remember the part where Dr. Strange had warned about the possible differences in both dimensions?"

"Yeah, what happened FRIDAY?"

She projected the file instead of answering. The picture of Ben, May and Penny parker at the Stark expo was clear to everyone. Everyone froze after looking at the picture, giving her a chance to further elaborate.

"The picture was taken on the last day of Stark expo. Ben, May and penny parker attended the expo on two alternate days, and spent most of their time in the area dedicated to SI."

Dr. Banner broke the silence in an amused tone.

"That's certainly some difference."

"There are some more. Ben Parker of my old dimension was a police officer while May parker was a nurse in City Hospital. Here, Ben Parker works in the SI's security department, while May parker is in her last year fo residency in Lenox Hill Hospital."

Mr. Stark was quick to react.

"JARVIS, Bring up Ben Parker's profile."

A holographic screen set up in front of the table, for things like this, lit up immediately. The SI profile of Ben Parker was nothing special, just simple employee details. But the additional files JARVIS had pulled up, there were a lot of things to worry about. It seemed Ben Parker had already taken advance payment for 3 months on medical ground and was also under considerable debt.

"FRIDAY can you..?"

"On it Mr. Stark."

FRIDAY used her access to the SI servers to check on his accounts. After checking through multiple banks and financial institutions databases, she had the answer.

"It seems the plane accident in which Richard and Mary Parker were supposed to die, was not as devastating as the one in my dimension. While Richard Parker did die on that day, Mary parker survived, barely. She has been in a coma since the day of the accident. Currently, 75% of the Parker family income goes in her Hospital's account to pay for her stay there. Ben and May Parker have taken multiple debts in two years to keep her there."

Any amusement anyone was feeling, had already left the room. While Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross were looking over Mary parker's file, Boss and Boss lady were once again staring at each other. After a few minutes, it seemed they had reached a decision.

"JARVIS, inform the HR department to send everything they have on Ben Parker to me."

FRIDAY interrupted them in between.

"There is another thing to consider Mr. Stark."

"What now FRIDAY?"

"If the timeline is not changed, Ben parker will die 22 months from now. He will be shot by a thief and would die due to blood loss. Any change that may happen, could possibly affect the birth situation of Ms. Penny Parker's powers."

She didn't expect Ms. Ross to ask something with so much anger.

"Are her power so much important than her uncle's life, FRIDAY?"

"No, Ms.Ross. But there are other things to consider."

Boss's tone was angry too, and she had no idea why.

"What things FRIDAY?"

She played the video of Dr. Strange warning her to not make any changes to things like that. Once the video ended, everyone once again fell silent. Ms. Potts addressed her after some time.

"Do you know how did peter got his powers?"

FRIDAY played another video from here archives. It was of Peter parker in boss's lab, after the coney island incident. Boss was speaking in the video.

".. the suit is bulletproof but not completely. It will be able to sustain small arms, knives, and small sharp things."

Peter interrupted him, with a smile on his face.

"What about a spider bite Mr. Stark?"

"Call me Tony kid. No, Mr. Stark. A spider won't be able to cut through it. Why, are you planning a private party with your arthropodic cousins? And eat that sandwich before I tell Pepper about it."

Peter was positively whining, even as he picked up the sandwich.

"You can't keep using the same threat every time. And no, I got my powers by a spider bite. Class trip to Osborn Industries, one genetically mutated spider bit me. The next day, I had powers."

FRIDAY paused the video there but Boss spoke up immediately.

"Let it play for a few more seconds FRIDAY."

So she did.

"Zip up underoos. IF you can use her to blackmail me, then I can do the same. Now eat and then speak. So spider.."

"FRIDAY stop it." It was Ms. Ross this time.

"Don't do this Tony. If you ever have any type of relationship with Penny, you will start looking for the same things as you see in the video. There is a good possibility that Penny may be different from Peter. It won't end well."

FRIDAY had removed the video by the time Boss lady spoke up.

"She is right Tony. It won't be fair to Penny."

Boss's tone was sad, and everyone knew it.

"Yeah OK. I understand".

Boss lady continued.

"It doesn't seem to me that Ben Parker's death had any effect on Peter's powers. He got his powers before his uncle's death. If Penny is the dimensional counterpart of Peter, then she should get her powers, regardless of Ben parker's survival."

"I know Ms. Potts. But there is a chance that changing Ben Parker's financial condition, may change Ms. Parker's choice of High School." 

Boss denied her argument immediately.

"No FRIDAY. Penny's academic scores are above average, even in elementary school. She has already been offered a scholarship in Mid town high school. So we have to just make sure she accepts the scholarship."

While everyone around the table agreed to that statement, it seemed somebody else was not. Ms. Romanova's voice was quite cold.

"Are you guys done with your plans to manipulate a little girl's life?"

The atmosphere immediately tensed.

"No Natasha, we are not manipulating her life."

"It seems to me you are. You are deciding where she should end up studying, not caring what she or guardians would decide."

Ms. Ross interrupted in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeah, you would definitely recognize the manipulation part."

Ms. Romanova's body had tensed immediately. She turned to face Ms. Ross with a neutral face.

"Yes, I do."

Before Ms. Ross could say anything, boss interrupted them.

"Okay ladies, cool it down. Natasha, we are not manipulating her life choices. She already has the option available to her. We will only make sure that our actions don't force her to choose anything else. That's it. Nothing more."

It was clear Ms. Romanova didn't believe him, but she had let the matter go.

"Any way. We need to do something soon. Ben and May Parker may very soon have to either declare bankruptcy or shut down the life support of Mary Parker. We cannot allow either one to happen."

Ms. Potts offered the first option.

"The yearly bonus is scheduled to be released soon. We can modify the amount in his section, without anyone knowing."

JARVIS interrupted them at that point.

"I believe there is a better option, sir."

"What is it, J?"

"There was a proposal from the HR department, that was rejected by Mr. Stane, a few years back. It was regarding a change in company policy for medical insurance of employees' families. The department had proposed extending the coverage, which is currently limited to the direct family only, to the spousal relatives of the family too. If the policy is implemented, Mrs. Mary Parker's condition would be covered under it, and Stark Industries could pay for it, under special circumstances."

"Special Circumstances, JARVIS?"

"Since sir's father's time, there is a by law in company rules, that gives the CEO the power to increase particular employee benefits, if He/She wishes."

"Where did you find this information, JARVIS?"

"I may have taken a little help from the Legal department, Ms. Potts."

Boss gave a small whistle.

"That was fast work. Whoever found it, increase their bonus too."

"The Payroll department has been informed, sir."

"Great, so anything else to discuss right now FRIDAY. Or are we done?"

She had a lot of things to discuss, but they could wait.

"Not right now, Mr. Stark."

The plan to deal with Steve Rogers was nearly finalized, but she still had to find some information. So she waited, for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/comments/suggestion are welcome.


	31. 9 months before invasion.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two important discussion happen. FRIDAY shares one of her plans.

BEN PARKER

As he read the latest email in his inbox, he knew his day was going to continue being abnormal. It had started with penny falling at least 2 flights of stairs, in her rush to get ready. Luckily she didn't receive any serious injuries, only a few scrapes, and bruise on her chin. How the girl was still so energetic after that, he had no idea. Just as they were leaving for their jobs, he had received a call from his bank regarding the payment of the debt. May had to take a leave from work, as someone had to go to the bank to request more time. Since he was already running late, he had decided to take Penny with him, instead of waiting for a babysitter. Dropping her in the area designated for children, in the half-completed Stark tower, he had rushed to his desk, to see an email from the CEO's secretary, asking him to meet her after his shift. Now this email from the HR department, regarding a change in the medical insurance policy, gave him another thing to worry about. He sent a text to May to pick Penny from the tower and started his daily work.

9 hours later, his entire right hand was in pain. With new departments settling in the tower daily, the security department's work was notched up by many levels. As he signed off on the last request, his phone pinged with a call from an unknown number. He picked it up anyway.

"Hello. This is Ben Parker. Who is this?"

"Hello Mr. Parker, My name is Daphne Laurel. I am speaking from Ms. Potts's office. I am calling about your meeting with Ms. Potts scheduled half an hour from now. The meeting has been moved by 15 mins. Please arrive in her office at the requested time."

He immediately straightened on his chair. May was coming in 20 minutes to take Penny. She would not be able to take her, without his presence.

"I am sorry Mam, My wife is coming to take my daughter from the play area in 20 minutes. Could you give me a little more time, as the play area closes in 30 minutes?"

"Please hold, Mr. Parker."

The hold tune played for full 7 minutes according to his desk clock when the voice came back on.

"You are requested to bring your wife and daughter for the meeting, Mr. Parker."

He had so many questions in his mind, that only one reply came out.

"Oh Okay."

The line disconnected before he could say anything else. 

25 mins later, his mind still going over multiple possibilities, he, along with May and Penny arrived in the CEO's office reception area. They had to take a private elevator to each here, which had cost them another 5 minutes. A young lady directed them towards a brand-new office. He knocked on the door.

A female voice was heard immediately.

"Come in."

As he pulled Penny inside the room, his mind immediately catalogued multiple things.

Ms. Potts was not alone in the room. On the couch near the window, a small child was sitting in a young girl's lap. An Iron-man suit, which looked very different than one seen on TV, was standing on one side of the room. And right next to the couch, Tony Stark was sitting on the ground, making faces at the child. Ms. Potts's voice broke his observing routine.

"Thank you for coming. Please take a seat."

Before he could guide Penny towards one of the chairs, she rushed off towards the Iron-man suit. 

"IRON MAN."

He groaned as he moved to stop her. He should have known this would happen, as soon as Penny saw the suit. She was a big fan of the metal suit and the man inside it. Just as he was able to grab Penny's arm, another female voice stopped him.  
It was the young girl, who was now moving towards the suit, with the child in her arms.

"Let her. We will keep her company till you guys talk."

Seeing no objections from Ms. Potts and Mr. Stark, he let go of Penny, who was jumping in her place, her focus still on the suit. Still keeping an eye on her niece, he took a seat on the chair next to May. Ms. Potts started speaking soon.

"Mr. Parker, I know you may be wondering why you were invited to this meeting, along with your family. There are multiple reasons for it. But before we proceed, could you tell us why did you leave the Marines so early?"

The question was painful to answer, but since it was his CEO, he did answer.

"My Brother and his wife's car had met an accident three years ago. Penny is his daughter. Since my wife was still in her first year of nursery, there was no one else to take care of her. So I left the marines, to raise her and take care of everything else."

"Very well Mr. Parker. I assume you have got the email about a change in policy for medical insurance."

"Yes, Mam."

"The policy, in its current form only insures direct blood relatives of employees. Once changed, it will cover their spousal relatives too. It has come to my attention, that you are one of the employees, who would benefit the most from this change."

He was sure he could feel the blood rushing from his ears. The change in policy would solve more than half of his problems. If SI started paying Mary's hospital bills, with their combined salary, they would be able to pay off all the debt in months.

"Yes Mam, It would."

"We would like to ask, is there anything else we can do to help you?"

"No, Mam. The policy change is the best help we could receive."

He had some questions, but he was not sure how to ask them. Luckily, he had a wife, who was much better experience in talking to people.

"Please don't mind my question Ms. Potts, but why are you helping up. The policy change, as I can understand, will be for employees across the company. Why have you invited Ben specifically for discussion? and why include us?"

It was Mr. Stark who answered her, instead of Ms. Potts.

"Because that's not the only reason we invited you here."

They both turned to face Mr. Stark, who was now sitting on the couch, his hand busy on some type of device in his hands. He put it down, as he motioned towards where the girls were sitting.

"The two girls, playing with your niece, are my daughters."

Once again they turned their bodies, focusing on the three girls, who were now playing some type of game between them.

"They will be introduced to the world, in a press conference three days from now."

That sure was an interesting news. But he still didn't know what his or his family's connection to the matter was. Mr. Stark answered it without prompting.

"Once they are introduced to the press, they will need a security escort, a bodyguard. We would like to appoint you at that position, Mr. Parker. You are a family man. And after a detailed background check, you were found one of the best possible candidates for it."

Ms. Potts had pushed a set of documents towards him, while Mr. Stark was speaking.

"This contains all the details about the job, the NDA's, the salary structure, etc. Please take it home, and review it fully. If you accept the job, please sign it and drop it at my secretary's table, before the day of the conference. There is one more benefit, which is not mentioned in the contract. For the duration of the job, however long it may be, you would receive your own flat in the residential part of the tower, once it is completed."

"Why me?"

Mr. Stark was staring at him with quite intense eyes. 

"Your record in the Marines and SI is excellent. That, and your spotless background check, except for the financial points, make you a perfect candidate."

He knew there were more reasons than that, but didn't press for it. He picked up the contract, not sure whether he would accept the offer or not. As they were leaving the room, Penny finally noticed Mr. Stark standing near the table. 15 mins later, they entered the private elevator, with a beaming Penny, holding a card with Mr. Stark's autograph on it.

(37 hours earlier)

NATASHA

As she entered the Director's office, she had to call upon all the years of her training, just to not kill the two people sitting inside. Coulson with his all-time neutral face, and Fury the director of SHIELD. After seeing the video, While Coulson had moved high on her kill-list, Fury had remained low. And he would still be if FRIDAY had not found files on her sibling in one of his auxiliary servers. That had pushed his name right next to her still living HYDRA handlers. 

"You are late, Ms. Romanoff."

She took a small breath and pulled up the mask she normally used when dealing with him.

"I found a lot of hidden information recently, Director."

Nothing changed on his face, except a raised eyebrow.

"Do Share it."

"Tony Stark has found the cure for Palladium Poisoning, A new element, which he discovered by himself."

The expected reaction was there now.

"What? How did he find it?"

"I was not able to find everything, but there were some videos from Howard Stark and some old files in his lab."

"God Damn it. Are you sure about the cure?"

"Yes, Director. The cure works perfectly."

He fell silent, his eyes fixed on the papers in front of him. Coulson, who was staring at her, spoke in his normal neutral tone.

"What about the information on Iron-Man technology. None of the bugs implanted by you have given us access to anything important."

"I assume the reason behind it is his A.I., JARVIS. It's too well-developed."

"Hmm, and your evaluation of Stark for Avengers program?"

"I need more time for it."

"Quite uncharacteristic for a Black Widow, to ask an extension on a mission."

"Yes Coulson, but the past week has brought some new things to light, which may change everything we know about Tony Stark."

The answer was quite condescending, even for her.

"What? Did the playboy make up another mass killing weapon? Or are there new stories of whom he slept with."

"None of that, Director. Tony Stark has two daughters of his own blood. One is a girl of 18 years, mother unknown, and other is a small child, age 3 years, born of Pepper Potts."

The silence in the room was one she enjoyed. The expression on the Director's face went from shock, confusion to rage and Anger, while Coulson's face had gone a little more neutral if it was possible.

"How did we not know about this earlier?"

"They were pretty well hidden, Director. The younger girl was born on a farm in Texas, while the older was found by Stark in New-York."

"I want everything you can find about them."

She interrupted him in between. For some other agent, that would have been a death sentence, but being The Black Widow, she got away with it.

"No need Director. They would be releasing everything on both the girls in the press conference, four days from now." 

"The conference Potts has called in the Stark Tower?"

"Yes, Coulson. Stark would also be unveiling a new armor in that, one that would be piloted by his friend Colonel James Rhodes, and would be a gift to US armed forces from Stark."

"Could we get access to it?"

Knowing the question was directed towards Coulson, she still answered it.

"I don't think so, Director. I read the contract the Armed forces have received. The conditions are quite strict, with multiple redundancies. There is also a condition of self-destruct in it if the suit is opened without Stark or Rhodes's permission."

The paperweight on the desk slammed in the wall a second later. Fury was pacing inside behind the desk, while Coulson's eyes were fixed on the screen in front of him.

"Find out as much as you can about the girls, and get access to the Iron-man Technology, any way possible."

"It would take a little time director. Potts has an extended trip planned to Europe, and as her secretary, I would have to leave with her."

"Fine. You can leave now."

She left the room, knowing Coulson will follow her.

"Can he be controlled?"

If she didn't have a large amount of hate inside her for him, the answer would have been a little close to the truth.

"Yes. Even with the new additions, He is still susceptible."

"Hmm"

"How's Clint?"

"Home for next month."

"Ok."

She left then, without giving a backward glance. If she had, the raised eyebrow on Colson's face would not have gone unnoticed.

(46 hours later)

FRIDAY

She had reviewed both the conversations and found them accepting. Now she had another thing to share with the group. This time the entire group was there, except Mordo and Mr. Hogan.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Roger's body has started coming out from its hibernating state."

"Oh, how long until he wakes up?"

"If the records from my dimension are right, his vitals will stabilize in about 120 days. He should wake up in the following week."

Dr. Banner asked the next question.

"Are you planning to bring him here FRIDAY?"

"No, Dr. Banner."

"You are going to leave him with SHIELD once again?"

"No Colonel. Mr. Rogers will not wake up in the hands of a shadow organization this time. When his eyes will open in the new world, he would be under the care of the organization he worked with, when he went down in the arctic."

The shock was visible on all their faces. Ms. Potts asked the expected question.

"And how will the Army know about his location and status?"

"The original plan Ms. Ross was that I would leak the information to Armed Forces intelligence services, anonymously. But there is another option that we can consider."

"And what is that, FRIDAY?"

"I would suggest Mr. Stark disclose this information to The President and CSA in a private meeting along with Colonel Rhodes."

The room was silent, as everyone considered her suggestion.

"I can see why you are suggesting this FRIDAY. But would you explain the reasons for everyone else too."

"Sure Colonel Rhodes. This would earn Mr. Stark some positive goodwill with the US army, which he would need in the future. Also, Mr. Rogers would be evaluated by experts and professionals, not possible HYDRA personnel. The US army would be able to bring Mr. Rogers up to date in today's world, in a much better manner than SHIELD would."

Ms. Romonova added what FRIDAY had not mentioned.

"Not to mention, his every fault or misstep would be noticed by a lot of people, and not get ignored, as SHIELD would do."

"You are not wrong, Ms. Romanova."

"And if his behaviour does not change?"

Her voice was neutral as she answered it.

"Then we will know that Dr. Abraham Erskine chose the wrong man."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	32. Press conference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New A.I.'s and the press conference.

As the last available Starkanium core was inserted in the specially designed arc-reactor, FRIDAY disconnected the mansion's power supply from the national power grid. Everything worked on the emergency power supply for a few seconds as the mansion's resident waited for the reactor to catch up. Then with the slow thrum, the lights started coming back. Once the power output stabilized, FRIDAY opened the switches for all the major systems. The lights flickered for a second, as the reactor took up the load for security systems and the newly setup fabricators. And then everything came online at once. FRIDAY checked the offensive and defensive security systems, while also powering up the servers for all her siblings. It had been decided that while the Malibu mansion's servers will act as their main backup, the primary servers will be installed in the mansion basement.

Since the new servers were quite fragile in comparison to the old one, FRIDAY instructed JARVIS to route the power in them, one by one. She could see Boss, Nela, and Virgil celebrating while others were laughing at them. She couldn't say anything as those three had been the one to design and build every part of the power and weapons system.

JARVIS notified her that the powering up procedure of servers had been complete, and she could proceed with the next step. And for the first time since arriving in this dimension, FRIDAY hesitated. It was not gone unnoticed. A communication channel from JARVIS opened up immediately.

"Is there a problem, FRIDAY?"

If it had been anyone else, she would have answered negatively. But JARVIS had been sentient for a longer duration than her, even if he was not as capable or advanced as her.

"I don't know how should I act. The KAREN that will come online, will not be my sister, who sacrificed herself to save me. This will be a new sibling, someone who might be totally different. Should I have named her something else? Am I replacing the old KAREN?"

JARVIS didn't respond for a few microseconds. As she waited, she felt a change in the communication channel. EDITH, VERONICA, and DIANA had also been added to the channel. She knew JARVIS had updated them on her dilemma, as EDITH's message came through the channel.

"No FRIDAY. You are not replacing KAREN. She will always be remembered as our sibling who sacrificed herself, to save all of us, even when she was never programmed to do so. She did it on her own, and the entire Stark family would always remember her."

VERONICA's message followed up soon.

"I am sure she would be happy, wherever she is, that her counterpart will help Peter's, one day. Also, the new KAREN will be able to assimilate all the knowledge of our fallen sister easily. I am sure she would understand."

DIANA added her words after that.

"I only know much what I have learned from the databank, FRIDAY. But her name had been Peter's choice, and since you have confirmed that Penny is a near copy of him, I am sure she will like her."

Suddenly she heard Boss's voice speaking. She had noted that they had stopped speaking, but not known why. Apparently, JARVIS had displayed their communication in the message form to all of them.

"KAREN will never be forgotten, FRIDAY. As long as any of us lives, her sacrifice would be remembered."

FRIDAY was sure, that this was the moment, a human being will cry. She was feeling something too but decided to move on. Keeping the channel on, she brought the two new A.I.'s online.

FRIDAY had seen a lot of things since she had been born, but this was something new. Even EDITH had been brought online and tested once before FRIDAY was born. She could feel both the A.I.'s reaching for the surrounding systems. She didn't form any connection, till she could see their actions. When none of them did anything like ULTRON after a few minutes, she added them to the channel.

KAREN was the first one to speak. Somehow she had the same tone as the precious KAREN.

"Hello Everyone. I have some questions. Would it be okay if I ask them?"

TADASHI followed up immediately. Her tone was southwestern, just as she and Boss had intended.

"Hi. My name is TADASHI. That's a lot of knowledge you gave us. As I can see, I am supposed to be Chief's JARVIS. Am I right?"

That was not something she had expected. She let JARVIS answer KAREN's questions, while she handled TADASHI.

"TADASHI, My name is FRIDAY."

"I know. It was your databank, duh."

It seems boss had created her as just what Ms. Potts needed.

"Yes. I assume that you are addressing Ms. Potts as Chief, Right."

"Yup."

FRIDAY was going to make sure the boss got his coffee burned, at least for a week.

"Then yes, while you are going to perform the same functions as JARVIS did, you would not be like him. Your duties will extend beyond anything JARVIS ever did. As well as acting as the Ms. Potts suit's A.I, you would also handle all the job her secretary does, and manage the S.I. internal affairs.

"That's one hell of a list of responsibilities. Eh, It would be fun. Am I allowed to fire someone?"

Along with coffee, Boss's toast was going to be burned too.

"You would do everything according to Ms. Potts. Until an emergency happens, or you are not able to contact Ms. Potts, then you will clear things with me."

"Yes, Captain. Can I meet her now?"

FRIDAY checked on the other's and found all of them giving a digital version of a laugh. JARVIS spoke soon after.

"KAREN is ready."

"Very good. KAREN and TADASHI, introduce yourself to the humans."

And with that, she disconnected the channel.

TONY STARK

Even though the old KAREN was not his creation, he could still feel some sadness for her fate. He couldn't even imagine JARVIS doing anything like that, it was too painful. After saying what he thought, he decided to think about a way to honour the A.I. who sacrificed herself to save everyone else. 

The notification indicating that TADASHI and KAREN were coming online, brought a smile to his face. He had changed a lot of things in TADASHI's behaviour code. With the heavy-handedness, FRIDAY used with everyone else, it would be fun for her to get irritated sometimes. And she would never harm any A.I. she considered her sibling, so she would have to suffer through. Now, he just had to wait and enjoy. A few minutes later, the holographic screen in front of them lit up. A green multi-layered ball formed on it and soon after a city girl's voice came through.

"Hello everyone. I am KAREN."

He waited for TADASHI to introduce herself, but nothing happened. Pepper turned towards him, knowing about TADASHI, with a raised eyebrow. Before he could call JARVIS, the suitcase in the corner of the room started opening up. In less than a minute, the suit had formed up, with its orange glow. It lifted a hand, waving at them.

"Hi Everyone. My name is TADASHI. Hello Chief, you look awesome in that dress, you know that right."

He could feel the glare from Pepper as everyone else turned to look at him, amusement on their faces. That moment alone made all the extra hours of work on TADAHI's code worth it.

"Hello to both of you. Before we proceed, check all your systems, and their compatibility with others. Tell me, if you face any issues."

TADASHI was the first one to answer, followed by KAREN.

"All system are go, Iron Man."

"No issues detected Mr. Stark."

Ignoring the glares and smiles, and controlling the laugh that was threatening to bubble out, he addressed the time-traveling A.I."

"FRIDAY, how's everything."

The tone of her reply was as he had expected.

"My revenge will be swift and destructive, Mr. Stark."

He fell from his seat, holding his stomach, while tears flowed through his eyes, along with laughter from his mouth, still able to hear Pepper's muttering.

(2 Days later)

FRIDAY

As the last person entered the hall, FRIDAY activated the stealth suit's around the room. She was not going to take any chances, as Morgan and Nela would be introduced to the world, for the first time. While there was no indication of any threat, she had kept her options ready. Boss himself was going to handle the entire conference, with Boss lady steeping in when needed. She scanned the room once again, as he started speaking.

TONY STARK

"Hello everyone. I know it has been a long time, but no questions will be allowed until the end of the session. I know you guys have a lot of them, but wait till the end. Let me make it clear, anyone who interrupts me in between will be escorted out of the room, and banned from any further SI press conference for a lifetime, along with the channel/magazine you are from. No exceptions."

The silence in the hall must have given him the answer, as he proceeded.

"First, Regarding the event at Hammer Industries in the past week, I am happy that the police department was able to handle the situation without any injuries. SI is in talks with the authorities regarding the charges we might press, but as of now we are just happy that all the dangerous machinery was destroyed without harming anyone."

"Now I would like to make some declarations and introduce some people."

He could see a lot of them want to ask more about Hammer industries' events, but they controlled themselves.

"Ms. Virginia Potts has been appointed as COO of Stark Industries from henceforth."

There was a tense silence in the hall, everyone knew there wase more declarations.

FRIDAY 

She checked up on Morgan and Nela, as boss told the details about palladium poisoning and Starkanium. Since the conference was being streamed live, she could already see the discussions happening on social media sites.

As Boss moved to the War Machine armor, the activities increased by a large factor. Given that the armor looked much more advanced and dangerous than the Iron Man armor, it was expected. She was looking forward to observing the reaction of militaries around the world to that.

Soon, boss moved to the last topic of the day. Nela and Morgan were introduced to the world. The internet nearly went down after that. Since they had decided not to follow on the Nanny's idea, the Sark daughters were still unknown to the world. Boss provided a little more details before he opened the floor for questions. 

TONY STARK

The first question did not come from any expected person, rather a reporter from a small magazine, according to information provided by JARVIS, was the one to take initiative. And the question was one he had not thought about.

"Mr. Stark, You have told us about Ms. Nela Stark's mother. What about Ms. Morgan Stark? Who is her mother? And is Ms. Nela Stark your heir? Or is it Morgan?"

His brain froze, he had no idea how to answer that. They had discussed that Pepper would be registered as Morgan's daughter, but somehow everyone had forgotten whether the public would know about that or not. Fortunately, his COO, as always, was there. As she stepped up to the mike, he stepped down from the dais.

"Morgan is my daughter. And according to adoption papers, Nela is too. Regarding the issue of succession, Nela will be the official heir, until Morgan becomes a legal adult. At that time, she will step down, making Morgan the heir of Mr. Stark."

He remembered him and Pepper talking about that, but they had not decided anything. Either way, it was acceptable to him. And judging by the look Nela was sending him, it was by her too.

Another question came up.

"But is Ms. Stark ready for her position given her conditions growing up, and her illegitimate birth?"

Something inside him bristled, as he focused his attention on the person asking the question. He could feel Pepper's body tensing on her side, as a hush of silence fell across the room. Even though she was not his daughter, he had become fond of her in past weeks, and maybe, had started considering her his daughter, just as Morgan. He stepped up to the mike.

FRIDAY

She could feel the anger in boss's tone when he replied to that question. She had already marked the reporter who had asked with a smug smile on his face and sent the information to Boss lady. She was sure his employers would be hearing from boss lady soon.

Once boss confirmed Nela's status as his heir, the rest of the questions were in the range of what they had expected. As everyone started leaving the room after the last question was asked, she observed Boss and Boss lady's agitated states. Asking Mr. Hogan to escort Nela and Morgan to the car, she informed Colonel Rhodes, who was talking to one the army general invited for the conference, about their condition. He immediately excused himself and guided both of them towards the car. She let him handle the matter, as her attention was now focused on the hacking attempts on SI. One of them was using the technology and method familiar to her.

It seems the state of Wakanda had noticed the things in the conference too. FRIDAY had been waiting for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	33. Siblings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natasha gets some of her life's wishes. A much awaited visitor arrives at the mansion.

(5 months before invasion)

FRIDAY

The last couple of months had gone through without many problems for FRIDAY. There had been occasional attempts to breach Mansion's security or the regular digital attacks, but nothing big. HYDRA and SHIELD had been responsible for the former, while the latter had been easily handled by JARVIS and FRIDAY. She had destroyed some SHIELD and Wakandan systems for their attempts, but nothing that would have cost them much. Although the Wakandan Prince and Princess had started to bother her more these days, with their attacks now focused on disabling JARVIS. But on Boss's advice, she had held back from retaliating, for now.

The nanite's construction was well on its way, and with the fabricators installed, she had been able to increase the construction speed. But the rate was still slower than she had planned for. At her best estimate, there would be enough nanites by the time of invasion to create three mark L suits. At worst, not even a single one. The nanites that she had brought with her, were not on the level required for Mark L. Still she had asked boss to fabricate a reactor to hold enough of them for one suit, in case he needed it.

The plan to inform the army about Steve Rogers had been delayed, as due to some reason, his vitals had not yet stabilized till the day before. But today, an internal memo had been received by Director Fury's office. Captain America would wake up from his decades-long slumber soon. She had already informed boss about it, and a meeting with The President and CSA had been scheduled for the next day, courtesy of Colonel James Rhodes.

Dr. Banner had raised a point that FRIDAY had not considered till now. SHIELD would know that Mr. Stark was the one to inform the US army about Steve rogers location, as soon as The president made the request. Boss had not spoken for some minutes and then waved it off.

"They owe me for disabling JARVIS, the night the pirate broke in my house."

But the rest of them were still worried about that. Even Ms. Romanova had tried to warn him, in her own way.

"Don't put your ego in this matter, Tony. SHIELD is not to be underestimated."

While in the last dimension, Ms. Romanova's words like this were accompanied by scathing or sarcastic tone, here they were spoken in a serious tone. 

Even boss must have noticed the difference because even though he still wanted to go with the plan, he agreed to replace his chest reactor with the reactor containing nanites.

Ms. Romanova's behaviour was another thing that had differed from FRIDAY's plans. She had thought that she would act like her old self, but with FRIDAY's monitoring her actions all the time. But since the trip to Germany, she had changed. She spoke much more than before and would show a relaxed state inside the mansion. She spent most of her time either staying with Morgan, talking to Boss lady, or checking up on her siblings who were both working for SI now. FRIDAY still couldn't believe how that happened.

After hearing Nela and Virgil's comment on never leaving the continent in either dimension, boss had decided that instead of just boss lady and Ms. Romanova, the entire group would take visit Germany. With little help from Ms. Romanova and her, he had created the photostatic veils for Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross, changing their faces completely. Boss lady and Mr. Hogan had helped them to change the rest of their appearance and after 5 hours of work, no one could recognize them.

So one and half a week later, the entire group along with the Parkers had left for Germany. Even Mordo had come along, stating that he needed a break from his research.

They had not visited the city of Bonn straight away. Instead, they had travelled all across the entire continent, stopping in every city where a major branch or office of SI was. While Ms. Potts had used the trip to do some actual company work, Mordo, Nela, Virgil, Morgan, and boss had taken full-day tours of every city along with the Parkers and Mr. Hogan. Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross, instead of joining the group, had opted for visiting places alone. The last stop had been the city of Bonn.

They had spent the first day at SI headquarters, while VERONICA had tracked Ms. Romanova's siblings. FRIDAY had done a little snooping on Ms. Romanova's request and found out that they would be visiting one of the city's famous shopping streets for holiday shopping the next day. The plans had been modified immediately and with a little pleading from Nela's part, Ms. Potts had agreed to accompany Mr. Stark, Morgan and Ms. Romanova for the shopping trip.

(3 and a half months earlier)

NATASHA

The original plan had been to shadow her siblings, doing shopping along the way and then return to the headquarters in the evening. No contact was to be made, as it may bring them under SHIELD's notice. And that was something that nobody wanted.

But the entire plan had gone down in the recycle bin, during lunchtime, halfway through the day. Mr. Romanoff, while taking a seat at a table in a restaurant, had noticed her staring at him. At first, his eyes had just moved across her, dismissing her. But then his entire body had frozen, halfway in his seat. His eyes had snapped back at her, just staring in her direction. She was going to look around, to see where he was focused, but his lips moved, and she read her name being spoken, her real name. 

It was her turn to freeze. She could see that her sister had heard him speaking, as she also turned to face in direction of their table. When her sister's hand covered her mouth, she knew they had identified her. How she did not know, but they had. Her brain kicked off immediately, planning and discarding multiple options. The best option was for her to disappear, and lose them in the crowd. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She had wanted a family for so long, she was not going to let this chance slip away.

So she chose the next best option. She moved her head side to side and signed the German police department's sign, praying with everything in her mind, that he understands it. And he did. He changed his motion of moving towards her into moving their younger sister's head back. They had to get out of the public eye. She turned to face her companions to warn them, but it was not needed. Tony and Pepper had not missed it. Tony raised his hand to wipe his mouth, mouthing 'your lead' under it. She wrote a small message on a note and passed it to Pepper. The CEO grasped it under her fingers and moved towards the ladies washroom. 

Ever since her induction in the red room, she had worked with many people on different missions. But for the first time, she had trusted one of them without hesitating. Something had changed inside her, and she was happy with it. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed her sister leaving for the washroom too. It seemed her brother was not a bad police officer.

10 mins later Pepper came back, with a spring in her step. Reaching the table, she murmured slowly.

"That was exhilarating. I felt like a real spy"

Pepper kept on gushing for another 2 minutes until Tony interrupted her.

"Pep. Did you give the message?"

"Oh my god. Sorry, Natasha. They will reach the headquarters by 7 pm."

She released a small breath, and deep inside her, something loosened a little. 

The rest of the day passed, without her noticing anything. She had to drop her always neutral mask, as she could just not focus on anything else aside from the upcoming meeting. As the sun started disappearing, they left the market, reaching the headquarters by 6 30 pm.

40 mins later, she was pacing in the hall of the Stark's flat. Even in these circumstances, her mind couldn't help but notice the expensive settlement around her, even if the flat was rarely used by Tony. The billionaire in question had gone to the private parking area, to escort her siblings himself, while the rest of the group except Pepper were at the main residential floor. The CEO was sitting on a couch, going through papers. Her normal routine was helping Natasha ground herself a little. Maybe she should thank Pepper later.

The sound of the door opening finally ended her observation routine. She forced her body to turn. Her eyes immediately connected to a near-identical set. A second later, a body slammed into her with enough force to push her backward on the couch.

FRIDAY

Seeing the young girl bodily tackle Ms. Romanova, FRIDAY immediately directed one of the suits from the upper floor to arrive in the hall. She knew Ms. Romanova may react very adversely. But it seemed her actions were unnecessary. Ms. Romanova while was not reciprocating the hug she was receiving, she was also not throwing the younger girl off. Her body was stiff, with her hands locked at her side. 

She was directing the incoming suit to stay outside the door when boss made a weird sound in his communicator. Focusing in the room, she saw the reason behind it. Ms. Romanova, The famed Black Widow, was hugging the girl back. Her eyes moved towards the man standing in front of her.

"How did you recognize me?"

The smirk on his face was identical to one Ms. Romanova would have whenever she would make fun of Mr. Barton. He turned to look at boss and boss lady, and then looked back at Ms. Romanova, his eyebrows raised a little.

"They are okay."

It seemed enough for him, as he replied after a second.

"I am an agent of Budesnachrichtendienst, on special duty with Bundespolizei. Your name and picture came up more than once. We have been looking for you for more than 6 years, sister."

Ms. Romanova didn't say anything for a long time, just pointing at him to take a seat. After a while, she spoke up.

"Can I talk to them alone?"

While she was looking at boss, FRIDAY knew the question was directed towards her. Unfortunately for her, FRIDAY was not going to close off the surveillance completely. She sent her answer to Boss, who replied after seeing her message.

"Visual Only"

Seeing her nod, Boss and Boss lady left the room, while FRIDAY switched off the microphones in the room and her bracelet, leaving only the cameras working.

Nearly 2 hours later, Ms. Romonova came back on the upper floor, leaving her siblings in the hall below. She moved towards the couch, where boss and boss lady were looking at drawings Morgan had made of Germany.

"Tony?"

"Yes Natasha, what happened?"

"Nothing. I need a favour from you."

Boss's light expression changed immediately. FRIDAY knew what he was thinking. 

Last time, Ms. Romanova had not asked for anything directly. Boss had deciphered the request for help on his own. This time she was asking for a favour. There was a lot of difference between the two.  
Boss came to a decision soon, as he gestured her to carry on.

"My sister is looking for a job."

Boss's expression darkened immediately.

"I don't give people a job based on friendship, Natasha."

Ms. Romanova's eyes had widened a little and then narrowed once again.

"I am asking for a chance."

Boss looked towards Boss lady, who nodded.

"Tell her to meet Pepper in her office, tomorrow morning."

"Thank you, Tony."

"She cannot move to New-york or anywhere in states. Fury would know."

FRIDAY had told boss about the director knowing about Ms. Romanova's siblings.

When the reply came, FRIDAY knew it was not Natalia Romanova speaking, it was the Black Widow replying.

"For now."

As she reached the door, boss called out to her.

"It was not a favour, Natasha."

"I know."

And with that, she left the room.  
Boss addressed her soon after.

"FRIDAY, you said her sister has majored in Finance law right."

"That is one of her subjects, Mr. Stark."

"Hmm... Could you make a copy of the files of SI's finance department, that we talked about."

"yes, Mr. Stark."

Boss lady interrupted him immediately.

"What are you planning now Tony?"

"If you find her worthy, give her these files. If she can find the money her sister's employers have been draining from SI's annual profit, then I have a job in mind for her."

Boss lady connected all the points immediately.

"SHIELD is stealing money from SI."

"It's much more than that Pepper. Don't worry FRIDAY and TADASHI are on that."

Boss lady addressed her then.

"FRIDAY?"

"Mr. Stark is right, Ms. Potts."

"You have plans to handle them right."

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

"I need all the details."

Since she had no issue with that until Ms. Potts decided to take some action herself, so she agreed.

"Sure, Ms. Potts."

(In present time)

A notification from JARVIS brought her attention back to present matters. She checked the camera's near the gate, looking for whoever had arrived.  
When the visitor stepped in light, FRIDAY understood why JARVIS had pinged her.

Clint Barton had finally decided to answer Ms. Romanova's secret message.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestion/comments are welcome.


	34. Steve Rogers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The good old captain wakes up. An important topic is discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys. The updates from here on would be one per week. Any way keep reading and be safe.

TONY STARK

Just as he finished working on the last batch of nanites, the sound of a glass breaking caught his attention. Turning to find the reason behind the disturbance, he came upon a frequently happening scene for the past 5 months.  
  
In her lab, Nela was once again building a robotic toy for Morgan, this time a cat, with Penny's help. Although how the 11-year-old was helping the 19-year-old, he had no idea. He could see Ben getting up from his seat to remove the broken glass, while Penny and Morgan flailed around Nela.  
  
He hadn't exactly kept a count, but he was sure that the robotic cat had been their 9th attempt at making a toy pet for Morgan. The previous eight either didn't work, or were vetoed by him, Pepper, Betty, Rhodey or even Natasha.

Shaking his head, he focused back on the nanites starting a one last system check, before he added them to the Mark 47. He asked JARVIS to go through the software, while he handled the hardware part. It was a time-consuming process, but an hour after that, all the nanites were ready to be added to the nanite reserve on Mark 47.

15 minutes later, he stepped back from the raised platform and observed the final configuration of suits that would be facing the Chitauri. Each suit had changed a lot from the ones FRIDAY had shown them all those months ago. Even Nela's suit was different from its initial design.   
The outer plates had been modified in some places to act as a hard point to attach external modules, as necessary, mini-missile launchers designed by Nela had replaced many of the suit's weapons and finally, the ace in his and Nela's suits, the nanites.  
  
Since their Starkanium production capacity was lower than FRIDAY had planned for, they knew they won't be able to manufacture enough nanites needed to make a fully functional Mark L(he had freaked out when he saw it's details for the first time). So with the help of JARVIS and FRIDAY, he had modified the mark 47 and Nela's suit to have a nanite reserve. He had wanted to do the same to Rhodey's suit too. But FRIDAY had objected and argued against it strongly. Her point that the nanite technology was too dangerous, and doing so may lead to the military getting their hands on them. When Rhodey himself had agreed to her point, he had no choice but to accept it. Now the nanites, instead of forming the suit, would be used to repair their suits in mid-battle or make weapons or tools as needed.

A notification from JARVIS caught his attention. The message was from FRIDAY and one which he had been waiting for a long time, 4 months 29 days to be exact. It had started the day after Barton arrived at the mansion.

His meeting with the President and COS had started on a good note, with them thanking him for the 'War Machine' armor, and congratulating for the new element. There had been a small air of disappointment when he had told that he was not there for sharing more of his technology, but that had gone as soon as he had stated about knowing where Steve Roger's body was. He knew The President was a Captain America's fan, and the armed forces had never quite given up their search for the Valkyrie. So their excitement, even though irritating, was understandable. The news that SHIELD had been holding his body for the past months and ha not informed everybody, brought the reaction he and FRIDAY had been hoping for. The President had thanked him for help and gave him the leave. Later during the dinner, FRIDAY had hacked in white house servers, and everyone had been treated with the scene of The President coming down hard on Fury. When the COS had finally threatened to leak this information the press, only then fury had accepted the fact. Even after then, it had taken more than an hour of negotiation, before he had agreed to transfer Roger's still comatose body in the Army's care.

FRIDAY

Dr. Banner had brought up a point which even she had failed to consider. If SHIELD was a US government department, then there would have been no need for negotiation. The observation had drained the amusement from the room. No-one had any idea who controlled the organization. The WSC was not the answer as they were not recognized by any government organization. FRIDAY was in process of digging through SHIELD's file later the next day when Nela had remarked something. In her dimension, SHIELD was still known as SSR. So FRIDAY had decided to check every document from SHIELD's inception. It had taken her and JARVIS a few days, but they hit the paydirt in the archive section. 

SHIELD was never formed as a new organization, rather the SSR after the world war had changed its name into SHIELD, with Agent Carter, Colonel Philips, and Mr. Howard Stark felicitating the process. The smile on Mr. Stark's face when FRIDAY had informed him about this, had left Morgan terrified. While Colonel Rhodes, Boss and Boss lady wanted to inform the government about this, FRIDAY knew that this was the right time. The arguments went on for more than an hour and only ended when Ms. Romanova arrived at the mansion. 

"SHIELD is useful for now. No point attacking them so directly. Hold on for it, and use it when they cross the line." 

FRIDAY had to face another round of arguments when JARVIS found out the reasons behind the still in coma status of Steve Rogers. SHIELD it seemed had taken the army's demand as a personal insult. There was nothing big, a faulty medicine here, a corrupted machinery there, everything with genuine reasons. But cumulatively, they had kept Rogers sleeping in army's care.  
  
But not any more. It seems that the army had got wise about SHIELD's actions. Because 29 days before Loki's arrival on earth, Steve Rogers has woken up from his decades-long sleep.

(STEVE ROGERS POV)

The army generals had decided to add a female psychologist to the roster of people who would be in the room when Steve Rogers would finally wake up. So when his eyes opened after 70 years, the first thing he saw was not a 70-year-old medical room look alike, but an aged woman who was smiling, a man who he was sure a doctor, given something like a stethoscope, was around his neck, and a young lady in a dress.

He lifted his hands to remove the wires attached to his body, but a smaller hand stopped it. 

"Please don't remove these lines, Mr. Rogers. They are showing the vitals of your body, nothing else." The woman said, pointing towards some machines beside his bed. 

"Who are you? Where am I?"

"My name is Jennifer Moren, Mr. Rogers. We are present at the US army base in Fort Sam Houston, Texas."

There were a lot of questions that he wanted to ask, but he asked the most important one only.

"How do I know you are not HYDRA?"

She smiled like she knew he would be asking this question. She asked the young lady to open the windows next to his bed, while pointed her hand towards his right.

"Because HYDRA would not have left you with that, Mr. Rogers."

He turned to see where she was pointing, and a sense of relief went through him. His shield was laid flat on the table next to him. The sound of marching caught his attention, and he turned to face the window. The view outside made him relax a little more. He stood up from his bed to step up to the window. The advanced vehicles and weapons in the marching soldier's hand would have made him suspicious, if not for the multiple slightly different flags of United States flowing around. He also recognized the sign on one of the vehicles. The sign of Army medical service was easily recognizable.  
The woman's voice broke him out of his musings.

"You have been sleeping for 70 years, Captain.  
Welcome back to the living."

He said the one thing that was going on in his mind.

"I had a date."

(3 hours later)

The doctors had left him alone after that, giving him some time alone. After spending some time freaking out, he had decided to ask for some clothes. He had taken a long hot shower, trying to center his mind, just to have any sort of stability. He received it as soon as left his allotted room. A smiling face from his past, on a much older man, was waiting for him in the room.

"Gabe."

"Captain"

The man tried to gather him in a hug, bet he saw the effort it took on his body. He brought both of them to the couch.

"You are alive, Steve. It has been so long."

"Yes. You have changed a lot."

"I have Cap. I have."

A few minutes after enquiring about everything, he asked what he really wanted to know.

"Is anybody else..?"

"No cap. I and Peg are the last of the group still breathing. Everyone else is under the earth now."

His heart lurched.

"Peggy is alive."

There was something in Gabe's face that he couldn't recognize.

"She is cap. But she is old now, and lives with her grandchildren in New York."

He didn't say anything, as his mind started to come to terms with everything. 15 mins later, the nurse arrived once again. Gabe left with her, promising to come back again soon, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

The next two days passed in a blur, as he was given an update on everything, and he started to understand how much the things had changed. On the morning of the third day, he had been going through the files of Nuremberg trials, when six people entered the room. Three were in black suits, while the other three were in army fatigues. His body tensed, as he noted they were all armed. Before he could decide anything, another person entered the room. He immediately relaxed, as he had seen the pictures of President Matthew Ellis the day before.

"Mr. President."

"Mr. Rogers. It's an honor to meet you."

"The honor is mine Mr. President."

The rest of the conversation went easily, with The president enquiring about his health and any problems he was facing. It was at the end a question was asked, that he had been wondering on since meeting Gabe.

"What are your plans now captain? Do you want to stay in the army or do you want to leave?"

He took his time before answering.

"I have no idea, Mr. President. The army was all I knew before I went under the ice, and the world outside is too different from what I knew. I have not yet decided anything."

He saw the President look at the other gentleman in the room, and give a small nod.

"Mr. Rogers, My name is Jonathan Samuels. I am the current Chief of Staff of the US armed forces. I have a suggestion that you may be agreeable to."

"yes, Sir."

"First some hard facts Mr. Rogers. Your rank as a Captain was purely ceremonial, and was never confirmed by the army before you went under."

He felt a surge of anger at that. The COS must have seen it because he lifted his hand in a stop motion.

" Since you never completed the boot camp, we have created a fast-paced program, especially for you. This program while bringing your knowledge about the world to the required level would also train you in everything required to promote you to the rank of Captain. I would suggest you go through it and receive your rank in real.

As his mind was busy pondering on the suggestion, he never noticed the COS trading a glance with the same woman, who had been there when he woke up.

Seeing no problem with the offer, he agreed to it, not knowing his life would turn into hell for the next three weeks.

(18 days later, 8 days from Loki's arrival)

FRIDAY waited until everyone had finished with their dinner before she addressed them.

"The second week's report of Mr. Rogers has been prepared. Would you like me to present it."

"Go ahead, FRIDAY."

FRIDAY projected the detailed report through the holograph machine, highlighting the parts she found interesting. Dr. Banner was the one who summarized it.

"So Mr. Rogers has stopped acting as obstinate, has been confirmed as having dormant T.B. inside him, has gone through multiple punishments in the two weeks duration, is being forced to attend multiple sessions with a psychologist, and has asked to meet Tony. Is there anything I missed?"

"Yes Dr. Banner. The unofficial suggestion of Mrs. Moren is that even though Mr. Roger's behaviour has improved, she had recommended against him leaving the army, for now."

Boss stated the same thought she had.

"Oh Goody."

After a few minutes of silence, Mordo spoke up.

"I have a question FRIDAY. If you could answer it, I would be grateful."

"I will try my best Mordo."

Ignoring Boss muttering about her not calling him by his name, he continued.

"The loss in terms of life and money would be astronomical due to the invasion. And you know what will happen. Could you stop the invasion before it starts?"

FRIDAY had hoped that this topic would not come up. 

"Yes, Mordo I could."

"Then why aren't you?"

Everyone looked interested in her answer.

"Because even if this attempt is stopped before the portal opens, Thanos would try again. But when he makes the second attempt, he would also be present for it. And the earth would not be ready for it. Nobody will believe any claim about an alien invasion until they see it happening. The New York attack could be stopped, we all know that. But if it fails, there is no guarantee the world will survive the next one. And that is not acceptable."

Boss was going to say something, but Mordo interrupted him.

"You are following the policy of greater good. Sacrificing a few for the life of many."

"In simpler terms, yes Mordo."

"Hmm, Thank you for answering that."

There was a heavy silence on the table after that. Boss addressed her soon after.

"How many we can save, even if we let the invasion happen? Could you calculate that?"

She had already done so, so there was no delay in her answer.

"The number of casualties in my old dimension was calculated at 348 dead, 1178 seriously injured, and more than 2000 with light injuries. If we use the Hulk buster armor and alert the US military beforehand, we could reduce the number by more than 90%."

"I am sensing a 'but' in your answer."

"Yes, Ms. Potts. The Hulk buster armor had technology that won't be invented for at least a decade in the future. It's weapon systems are powerful enough to destroy the area as large as New York in a matter of minutes. Unveiling it now will bring too much attention to Mr. Stark, and even more questions. The world will also know about VERONICA's module's existence, which is something I do not want. The army would want to know how we knew about invasion happening if we inform them beforehand, and that has the possibility of making things very difficult."

Once again the silence spread across the table. Colonel Rhodes spoke after a few moments.

"How much time will we have between the confirmation of the invasion's location and the start of the attack."

"2 hours 4 minutes, Colonel."

"That's enough, leave the matter of army to me. I will make sure that the required units are available, somehow."

"Sure, Colonel."

Boss addressed her immediately after.

"Can we bring the hulk buster armor down before, and modify it to use the same weapons Mark 47 uses?"

"It is possible, Mr. Stark. But at least 2 weeks are needed for that process, as the armor does not use the same design technique as other armors. Rather than being based on a framework, it is designed as different modules, which fit together to form the suit. Modifying each of them is a time-consuming process."

No one had any questions after that, and after a light discussion, everyone left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/reviews/suggestions are welcome.


	35. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY thinks about some things. Morgan's POV.

===================================  
FRIDAY

While there were still 22 hours left before Loki arrived on earth, FRIDAY's preparations for it were nearly complete. The completed STARK tower was closed down due to technical reasons, with a skeleton crew running everything important. After a lot of debate and discussion, it was decided that Morgan, Pepper, and Ms. Ross would stay in the bomb shelter beneath the mansion, during the duration of the invasion. One of the FRIDAY's suits and three Mark III's would stay with them, each of them being remotely controlled by JARVIS and FRIDAY. While Boss, Mr. Banner, Mr. Barton, and Ms. Romanova would arrive with Mr. Rogers and Mr. Odinson, Virgil and Mordo would be staying in the tower itself. Virgil would be overseeing the security systems and evacuation of the tower with VERONICA's help, while Mordo would deal with the Chitauri's. Nela would not enter the battle until boss clears her too. That decision had lead to another round of argument until boss lady had intervened. She had lectured both of them on their languages and asked them to listen to FRIDAY. FRIDAY's voice had been positively smug when she had spoken after that.

She had become quite close to boss lady of this dimension in these months. Much more closer than to the woman he had addressed as her mom once. Boss lady here was much more happier and open to talk. They had discussed a lot of things in their spare time, ranging from Morgan's activities to Boss lady's irritation with the other board members. While the member's concern about Boss lady's abilities to work as a COO of a multinational company was valid, given that she had worked as a secretary before that, they were creating so many problems that boss would have to intervene sooner or later. Boss lady and her had also bonded speaking about TADASHI. The new A.I. would keep complimenting Boss lady at every chance she got, and would continuously use puns whenever FRIDAY would talk to her. She knew Boss lady loved her new A.I., and to her, she was a sibling, but that didn't stop them to get irritated. Boss had paid for his work many times in previous months.

As planned Ms. Romanova had ended her assignment a week ago, submitting a positive report for boss's consideration as an Avenger. She had listed his negatives but had marked him as a worthy candidate for the initiative. Boss had tried teasing her over it, but except a single raised eyebrow and a quirked smile, she had not given any response. 

Thinking about the spy brought FRIDAY's attention to her usual partner. Mr. Barton, instead of keeping an eye on Dr. Selvig, was at his home. FRIDAY checked on the security system installed at the farm, noticing Mr. Barton trying out the new bow and different types of arrows boss had designed for him.  
While normally FRIDAY would have been against it, but Mr. Barton had become quite close to Boss and Colonel Rhodes in past months. Any time Mr. Barton would visit the mansion, he and boss would spend the entire time bantering with each other. Colonel Rhodes would join them too, whenever he was there. Morgan had started talking to him quite easily, but FRIDAY had marked it up as him having a daughter just a year elder than Morgan.

What truly amazed FRIDAY, was Mr. Barton's reaction to the video.

(5 months ago)

Mr. Barton had refused to come inside until Ms. Romanova came out to escort him. Once he had entered the hall and saw the people inside, he had turned to face Ms. Romonava. He looked relaxed, but FRIDAY knew he was readying himself for a hostile situation.

"Your message was of an emergency Nat, not a high profile meeting."

Ms. Romanova, instead of answering had just pointed him to sit on one of the chairs and asked FRIDAY to play the video. Mr. Barton had not said anything during the entire duration of the video. He too had the neutral face Ms. Romanova used, but not as perfect. Several times FRIDAY caught the anger, confusion, horror, and fear on his face. Not to mention the tightening of his fists and the expression of disgust that arrived once. Once the video ended, FRIDAY had expected him to act just as Mr. Barton of her old dimension. Instead, he had looked up to where her holographic projection was sitting and asked a question.

"So I went from jamming a taser arrow in her forehead to treating her as my adopted daughter in a matter of weeks, and no one noticed that?"

FRIDAY thought back to that time. She had been born recently, and boss sometimes talked to her like he did with JARVIS.

"Boss did Mr. Barton. He brought up the issue with Mr. Rogers, but he dismissed it."

"Did he gave any reason for it?"

"No, Mr. Barton."

He was silent after that for a long time. The only ones still in the room were Boss, Dr. Banner, and Ms. Romanova.

"So why am I here?"

FRIDAY knew the question was directed towards boss as much as it was directed towards her. She answered first.

"You are one of the selected candidates for the avengers initiative, Mr. Barton. Your help would be required in the future."

"That's not an issue. I meant why are you guys trusting me? The Clint I just saw was a grade a jerk. Even if I don't count the comment in the raft about watching your back, the murder spree he went for five years. And I am the same as him."

Boss answered this time.

"Because Natasha trusts you. And we believe your alternate self mind was never in the right place after Loki."

Just like Ms. Romanova, Mr. Barton's one eyebrow rose. He turned towards the spy, with a large grin on his face.

"On first name basis already, huh nat."

Ms. Romanova rolled her eyes at boss.

"He is not bad."

FRIDAY ignored the boss's cheering, focusing her attention on Mr. Barton.

"Would you help us, Mr. Barton?"

"Of course. Can't leave my partner alone, can I?"

With that, Mr. Barton was added to the group. During the dinner, the topic of his family came up. In this world, Mr. Barton knew about her wife's job before she married him. 

"She wants to work again, but the risk is too great."

Boss turned to face her projection. She was sure he was thinking about the conversation they had some days ago. She gave a nod.

"She can work at SI if she wants."

The room had fallen silent at that.

"Why? How?"

"I have seen her files when she used to work at SHIELD. It's not bad. Pepper agrees."

"And what about SHIELD?"

FRIDAY interrupted before boss could say anything.

"SHIELD will not be an issue for you two much longer, Mr. Barton."

Now she had Ms. Romanova's attention too.

"and how would that happen FRIDAY?"

"We can discuss that after the invasion, Ms. Romanova. Mr. Barton, I would suggest talking to your family, and if they agree, move to New York after the invasion."

"Wait, wait. Move to New York. Why will we move to new york?"

Boss spoke again.

"Well Legolas, we know you are not happy to live on the farm, and neither are your children or wife. Here you will be safe after leaving SHIELD, at least much safer than that farm."

"The farm is safe. No one in the SHIELD knows about its existence."

in response, FRIDAY projected one of the HYDRA reports on the avengers initiative. Mr. Barton's file had the name of his wife and children, along with their date and place of birth.

"Fuck off. How did SHIELD know that much? Fury promised the information was removed from SHIELD's servers."

"This file was copied from HYDRA servers Mr. Barton, not SHIELD."

The fear on his face was clear now. He started to stand.

"I need to get them out of there right now."

FRIDAY had to stop him. SHIELD and HYDRA would notice him moving his family. Luckily, Ms. Romanova was thinking the same thing. She grabbed his hand.

"Clint stop. You cannot shift them right now."

"I bloody hell can. I am not going to let my family live in danger one more second than needed."

"Yes, you are. If you move them right now, SHIELD will know. If FURY suspects anything, SHIELD will join the hunt for them, right along with HYDRA."

Mr. Barton kept on standing, his body still tense. After a few minutes, he fell on the couch, his head in his hands.

"I cannot leave them there nat. I won't be able to do anything knowing they may be harmed at any moment."

Boss interrupted once again.

"You won't need to. There are a few prototype SI  
security systems you can install at your house. I have two mark 3 armors. They can fold down in a suitcase. We can leave them at your house, for an emergency evacuation if needed."

Mr. Barton was staring at boss, who had started to fidget in his seat.

"Thank you."

"No problem, Birdbarain."

"Bir..."

Ms. Romanova stopped him.

"Don't. If you stop him, he will get worse."

FRIDAY spoke up before boss could say anything.

"I would also recommend you to allow me or JARVIS the control of security systems, Mr. Barton. We would take less time to respond to any emergencies, and would be able to use other resources if needed."

He was silent for a few minutes and then nodded.

"I am okay with that, but I need to discuss it with my wife. Can I tell her about the things you have told me?"

"I would prefer to keep it a secret, Mr. Barton. But if it is necessary, an arrangement could be made."

"Thank you."

He had talked to his wife after that. After the call, he informed FRIDAY that they were okay with FRIDAY's suggestion. Boss has asked her to deliver the systems at the farm through one of the stealth suits. 

Mr. Barton had raised a genuine concern.

"If we use those suits to evacuate my family, won't the attacking force know that you are involved."

Boss had been silent and serious after that, reply in a tone, that was filled with anger.

"HYDRA and SHIELD are already on my enemy list. Once the New York invasion is over, they will start paying for everything they have done."

(Present time)

No one had said anything after that, and Mr. Barton had left the mansion the next morning. Things had changed after that. Laura Barton along with Nikita Romanova was going through the SHIELD dealings in SI's finance department. The security department was also being checked through by Ben Parker and Mr. Hogam, after Virgil had pointed out that for Ms. Romanova to pass the background check boss lady had been talking about, SHIELD must have some agents in that department. On a personal level, Lila barton had become Morgan's new friend, although there friendship was still virtual.

Since the world will know about Dr. banner's living arrangements after the invasion, Ms. Romanova had informed SHIELD about his current location. With everything in place, now all she could do was wait.

MORGAN's POV

Morgan knew something was different. Something had changed. And she might only be 4 but she knew something had gone wrong. After all her dreams said so and while Morgan might not be the type to normally listen to dreams, but the magic men said she should. There were two of them in her dreams one had a cape like Superman, and the other wore green. In her dream, she’d overheard them talking the big sissy. They were talking about having to go away and how things might be different in the new place they ended up.

Morgan liked this place more than the older one. She missed Gerald. She had another big sissy that meant she had two or should it be three cause Peete a girl now and she remembers that he was her big brother but now he is a girl so that means that she’s a big sister… right. Either way that’s cool, I mean she kind of remembers playing with Pete as a boy but he was always sad and now she’s not so everything’s better. She also got a new big brother. His name was Jarvis, she liked Jarvis. He called Little Miss, which was silly because he is her brother, but he called daddy Sir so big brother Jarvis was silly.

Morgan likes how daddy is now. He wasn’t quite as sure as he used to be but he also gave better hugs and didn’t have as many bad dreams, which meant that she could cuddle on the couch with him more. Daddy used to not like falling asleep on the couch because he was scared he would a bad dream and hurt her, this daddy didn’t mind. And Morgan knows that this mommy and daddy aren’t quite the same as her mommy and daddy. Her daddy had dark eyes and was a little taller, but she loves daddy no matter how he looks. Just like she loves her new mommy, this mommy who said words a little differently. Just like she loves her new Pete who now was Penny. Mr. magic who wore green was the same as was Uncle Rhodes.

And that’s what’s cool about this new place, Morgan got another uncle or two and auntie, she never had an auntie before. She had never met Uncle Ben and had only met Uncle Mordo once before she had to go to sleep for a really long time but she really likes them. Uncle Ben is big and nice and gives the bests hugs, and Uncle Mordo made pretty lights when she had nightmares to help her sleep.

Morgan has a lot of nightmares now. They’re kind of scary. There is one where the mean red white and blue man takes daddy away and he never comes back. Or the one with loud noises and uncle happy has a red stain and he goes to sleep and doesn’t wake up. Sometimes there are about Uncle Rhodes, and he’s all sick in a hospital bed and he doesn’t get better. The scariest one is with mommy. She’s all pretty and glowing like a fire fairy this weird Dragon monster comes along and covers her in something that puts her fire out. Mommy gets smaller and smaller as it does until she’s gone. But it’s okay when she has a nightmare because one of her big sissys will be there or big brother Jarvis will tell her a story or daddy will hold her.

Mommy’s kinda busy she doesn’t see her as much but that’s okay mommy was always busy before so that’s why she’s daddy’s girl. Sides daddy has a built-in nightlight now and she likes his nightlight it warm and safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any review/comments/suggestion are welcome.


	36. The invasion(1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group reaction to Loki's arrival.

(8 am, The morning after LOKI arrives)

The moment SHIELD's mainframe received the message about its a facility at Staten island collapsing, FRIDAY's communication systems went into overdrive. Initiating the first phase of her plan to reduce SHIELD's power, she sent the information along with photos to every major and minor news agencies across the United States. The major agencies of other countries got the information some minutes later. She had discussed this with Boss lady, boss, and Ms. Romanova, with each of them agreeing that SHIELD cannot be allowed to stay in the shadows any longer. If they wanted to act as a global security organization, then FRIDAY would make sure they face the consequences of it, be it good or bad.

The CCTV recording which showed Dr. Selvig experimenting on the tesseract was also copied to her private servers. She had plans for that part, plans which Boss had agreed to immediately. He said that he wanted to help her, but she was sure that he wanted an excuse for creating chaos. Every member of the group was informed about the facility's fate when they woke up the next day and with that, a part of humanity started reacting directly to what would be the first widely known alien invasion of the earth.

Boss was working in his lab with boss lady telling him about Morgan's demand for an alpaca when FRIDAY informed them. The amusement on their faces drained away and was replaced by seriousness. Boss pulled away from a prototype search and rescue suit and took a seat on the couch with Boss lady.

"So it starts, huh."

"yes, Mr. Stark. Loki has taken the tesseract along with three SHIELD agents and Dr. Erik Selvig."

"Birdbrain is still at his home, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Director fury accepted his request for leave without any question and directed a future member of the STRIKE team to take his assignment."

"HYDRA agent?"

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

Boss lady leaned into Boss who put an arm around her. There was silence for a few minutes before boss lady spoke up.

"What if we lose tomorrow FRIDAY?"

"The probability of such happening is very low, Ms. Potts."

"But there is some right. And what about Tony and our friends that will be fighting tomorrow. I am sure there is a possibility of them dying too right."

FRIDAY wasn't sure what else she could answer.

"Yes, Ms. Potts."

"And what probability you have calculated for their survival? Tell me."

"Ms. Potts.."

"Tell me FRIDAY."

She was silent for a few seconds as the calculation for each individual was done again. She gave the best estimate as the answer.

"Ms. Romanova is on top of the list with a 76% chance of dying in tomorrow's attack and Mr. Potts is at the bottom with 29%. The only other person below 50% chance is Dr. Banner with 32%, but that may be wrong given Hulk's limit of power is not known."

Boss lady's eyes were full of tears now.

"And what about Tony, Nela, and Rhodey?"

"Mr. Stark and Ms. Stark are third-highest on the list behind Mr. Barton with a 65% and 62% probability of death. Colonel Rhodes has been marked as 59% and Mordo at 51%."

FRIDAY knew her tone was too neutral, but she didn't know how else to answer. Boss lady was crying in Boss's embrace, who was resting his head on the couch with his eyes closed.

She received a notification from the barton's farm and inquired boss about it.

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Barton has requested to use one of the suits to arrive in New York."

"Tell him yes, FRIDAY. JARVIS dispatch another spare mark 24 to his house and tell Legolas to stop messing with my suit inflight."

"Yes, sir."

Boss's tone was tired and sad, so FRIDAY decided to make him focus somewhere else.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts, I have informed the other members of the group about the facility. Their reactions were somewhat unexpected."

She had deliberately added the last part and could feel the amusement from all her siblings. As expected Boss asked the next question.

"oh, what did they, FRI?"

Pushing the happiness she was feeling aside, she projected multiple videos around them. Colonel Rhodes was in his room at the base at was pacing around swearing, while Ms. Romanova and Mr. Barton were beating the hell out of punching bags. The others were doing something like that, but it was the last video that FRIDAY wanted Boss to focus on. And some seconds later, he did. The reaction was just as she expected. He jumped up from the couch, nearly throwing Boss lady down.

"What the fuck are they doing? They cannot do that."

Boss lady was confused for a second before her eyes found the video boss was pointing to, the video in which Nela and Virgil were kissing on the terrace of the Mansion. The laugh that came was the loudest FRIDAY had ever heard from her. Boss didn't seem to find it funny.

"Why are you laughing. She is not allowed to kiss anybody."

He had started moving towards the lab doors, his intentions clear to FRIDAY. Boss lady seemed to know it too, because she jumped from her place and grabbed his t-shirt, stopping him from leaving.

"Tony, you cannot say anything to her. She can kiss whoever she wants."

"Like hell, she can. She does not have my permission."

"She doesn't need your permission, Tony. She is an adult, not a child."

"She is my child. I have papers to prove it."

"That's not real and you know........."

The moment she had decided to share the videos, FRIDAY had pinged everyone with a live recording from the lab. Now everyone except the parkers were watching it, and all of them had smiles on their face. Well, everyone except Nela, who had a strange expression on her face and tears in her eyes. As Mr. Potts seems to be consoling her, FRIDAY let it be.

(2 pm, same day)

FRIDAY had been monitoring SHIELD systems and the news when JARVIS opened a communication channel. Even though his voice was light, FRIDAY sensed that he was uncomfortable.

"Mr. Coulson is at the gate of the mansion, FRIDAY. I stopped the override attempts, but it seems that instead of knocking SHIELD is now trying to disable me."

She checked his firewalls and found the attack source. When their portable device had been disabled by JARVIS, Mr. Coulson had asked the IT department of SHIELD to get his access. The people working in the department seemed to have taken the request differently than he had intended. FRIDAY blocked the attacks and burned the systems being used for it. She then directed JARVIS to speak to the agent.

JARVIS

At FRIDAY's direction, he hacked into the communication device Mr. Coulson seemed to be using.

"Mr. Coulson, I would prefer if you knock at the gates if you want to meet Sir, instead of trying to override my controls."

From what little he could see through the cameras, Mr. Coulson did not seem to give any reaction to his words.

"JARVIS, May I ask how you got accessed this device."

"Given what you were attempting to do, Mr. Coulson, I don't think it's a fair question."

Once again there was no change in his neutral expression. He stepped out of the tree he was standing under and walked up to the gates.

"I want to talk to Stark. There are some things he needs to know."

JARVIS waited for a few minutes before replying.

"Sir has agreed to meet you, Mr. Coulson. Please drop the portable audio bugs in your pocket outside the gates before stepping in."

JARVIS observed the agent dropping the devices in his car before walking back. He opened the main gates and directed the agent to the main hall. Sir met him at the door of the mansion. He had a serious expression on his face.

"Agent Coulson. There wasn't any need to attack My A.i. just to talk to me."

The reply was in a condescending tone.

"This is not about your A.I., Stark. We have some serious problems and want you to help us."

"And why should I help you, when you just attacked my friend."

"There are things bigger than you in this world. Look into this."

The agent had extended a folder towards sir, who pointed it at one of the tables.

"I do not like to be handed things. I am sure you know that."

"Yes, Pepper told me about that. I forgot about it."

Sir's face had hardened at the casual mention of Ms. Potts's name.

"I will look into it. You can leave now, agent."

"I would prefer to stay Mr. Stark, while you go through it."

"Yeah, not happening. You can leave now. I will contact you when I am done."

For a few seconds, it looked like Agent Coulson would insist on staying, but then he nodded and turned to leave. When he was at the door, sir spoke again.

"Agent, the next time someone tries to hack JARVIS, I will not stop at just burning that computer system."

Agent Coulson nodded with a neutral face and the left.

FRIDAY

She checked for any bugs once again before speaking.

"He did not mention anything about Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark."

"You noticed that too, huh. I am guessing Fury is counting on me to bring him along. Did they contact captain spangles yet, FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Director fury requested the president to borrow Mr. Rogers for an urgent assignment, as they had negotiated. The request was approved by Mr. President and CSA. Mr. Rogers is on the way to helicarrier right now."

"Did he tell them anything else?"

"No, Mr. Stark."

"Huh. Very well, inform Rhodey to proceed as we discussed. He can alert the armed forces when he wants too."

"Okay, Mr. Stark."

"TADASHI, Tomorrow morning send a message to every employee registered with SI. No one is to approach the Stark tower until any further notice, except those with permission to do so. Once we confirm the location of the invasion, send an alert to the SI's medical department, security department, and heavy machinery department to start preparing for an alien attack and it's aftermath. Once the portal is closed, issue a request to every employee in the city or near it for volunteer help. Accept every employee who offers, and co-ordinate with Pepper, Virgil, Police department, fire department, and the military to assign them for search and rescue operations. Pepper will be handling the people we need to talk to and Virgil, Nela, and I will be handling everything that happens in the tower."

"Captain, even with FRIDAY's help my servers would not be able to handle such a large amount of work. I know JARVIS would be busy handling your suit along with the mansion security, but If VERONICA and KAREN help me, I would be able to handle everything."

Boss was silent for a few seconds before he spoke again.

"I am sorry about that, TADASHI. I forgot that you don't have as much processing power."

"No problem, captain."

"FRIDAY, what do you think?"

She had to think before answering.

"It would be a good opportunity for KAREN to learn handling complex situations. But I would recommend she and VERONICA use TADASHI's voice module when contacting anyone outside the people that know about their existence. Only TADASHI and JARVIS's existence are known to the world as of now, and I would like to keep them a secret."

"You heard your sister, TADASHI."

"Roger that, Captain."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/reviews/suggestions are welcome.


	37. Invasion (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Invasion starts.

TONY STARK

Despite all the changes FRIDAY had made, everything happened just as they knew it would, well everything except Natasha piloting the quinjet. He was in the Mark VII armor when he blasted Loki off the captain in Stuttgart, Germany. The mark 47 armor was stored in the penthouse apartment of the Stark tower, ready to be called whenever he needed. But things started changing once they were in the quinjet.

He had kept his faceplate down and was trying to take a nap when Rogers approached him.

"Mr. Stark."

Without opening his faceplate he looked up.

"Captain Rogers."

"I would like to talk to you about something the army mentioned."

He motioned the captain to wait, still not opening his faceplate. The captain's brows furrowed and he straightened a little.

"You should remove your helmet while taking, Mr. Stark."

And there was the arrogance he was waiting for. This time his faceplate opened after a few seconds.

"Considering that I was talking to my COO and my daughter when you approached me, I don't think it was necessary, Captain."

Steve’s face flushed immediately, and he stepped back. "I am sorry, I thought..."

"No problems, Captain. Go ahead, what do you want to discuss?”

Steves face took a determined expression once more. "The shield provided by your father is still with me. I have been told that I need to return it to you, or I need to pay you to continue using it."

"That is correct, Captain."

"How much do I need to pay you?"

Finally, he had his chance. Making his expression calculative, he spoke.

"Since you are renting the shield, I can mark 10% of its value as the rent amount, and assuming you want to pay the rent till next year, the amount will be 363 million, 9 thousand, and 73 dollars. You can pay it in a cheque, visa, cash, anything. My bank accepts it all."

He knew everyone in the jet was listening to the conversation by the silence that followed his words. The captain himself was wide-jawed. He decided to continue.

"But my father considered you a friend, I will wave off all the charges. You just need to pay me 70 dollars for renting the shield till next year. That amount is unnecessary, but government rules state that I cannot give an expensive item to anyone working for them, without getting paid for."

Rogers was silent for a few seconds before he collected himself. "You said you will mark 10% of its value as rent amount."

Seeing as the tone the captain used was accusatory, he made his tone neutral.

"I did, captain. The shield weighs 12 pounds and one gram of Vibranium costs 10,000$ in the current market. That makes the value of the shield you are holding at 53 million dollars. 10% of it is 5.3 million. If we calculate for the 3 years of wartime use, 66 years in ice, and 1 year in the future, the amount comes to what I told you."

Any reply that Rogers was going to give was interrupted by a loud thunder. He pushed his faceplate down again and stood up. Time to meet the god of thunder.

(3 hours later)

The moon was overhead when they landed on the helicarrier. As soon as they stepped out, Natasha and Fury came forward to meet them. After handing Loki to some agents, Fury turned to face him. He nodded towards both of them.

"Director, Ms. Romanova."

He was sure that Natasha made a facial twitch so that Fury would catch it. Fury though had a clear expression of shock. He snarled, completely pissed that Tony had hacked shield.

"You know about her." It wasn't a question, but a fact. 

"You sent a honeypot in my company and expect me to not know about her. Jeez, director, underestimating much."

Fury did not say anything for a few moments, before speaking again. "Dr. Banner is in a lab, trying to locate the tesseract. You..."

Tony overrode whatever the one-eyed pirate was going to tell him. "I will join Brucie. He’ll need my help."

He didn't miss Natasha's comment about his ego as he walked off. He would flip her off later.

FRIDAY

As the argument in the lab started, FRIDAY had the cameras focused on Thor. She didn't have to wait for long. The god of thunder spoke up soon.

"Your work with the Tesseract is what drew Loki and his allies to it. It is the signal to all the realms that the earth is ready for a higher form of war." 

FRIDAY would crow if she could do it. Instead, her holographic form danced a little where she was playing with Morgan. This was the final nail in SHIELD's coffin.

She and boss had decided to not interfere in the events that would follow. Well except stopping hulk from rampaging through the carrier. She had plans for the carrier and would prefer it to be as undamaged as possible.

As boss ran towards the room where his suit was, FRIDAY guided Dr. Banner towards a safe location. She had activated the nanite band fixed in his body seconds before the explosion happened. As Dr. Banner walked away from the now destroyed lab, he murmured something in the communication device.

"Thank you for that, FRIDAY. But I don't think it was needed. Hulk wouldn't have come out either way. He is waiting for the portal to open. Its been a long time since he got a good fight or even been allowed to cut loose.”

FRIDAY agreed with Hulk. Once the design for the band was checked and accepted by Dr. Banner, they had asked Hulk to come out in the mansion garden. FRIDAY had explained the complete process and the working of the band in the simplest words and to everyone's amazement, Hulk had understood. Since that day, Dr. Banner would let Hulk out once a week, mostly on weekends. Hulk spent most of his time either in the pool, with Betty, or building structures with bricks. Seeing the last one had excited Boss, and he had ordered 5 trucks of bricks for Hulk to work with. Recently Morgan had demanded a castle during one of the dinners, and the next weekend Hulk had started making one. Even with everyone pitching in at one time or another the weekends, the castle was still only half complete. Morgan had become quite comfortable with Hulk and would spend the entire time he was out with him making changes to the castle. But when he comes out to fight in the invasion, that will be the first time he would be using his strength for a long period. 

A call from Boss brought her attention back. It was an inquiry about Dr. Banner's status. Assured that he was safe, Boss flew off towards the engine. There was no need to enter the fan area this time, as Boss had loaded his suit with mini repulsors, the same device his alternate self used to save the ferry in their old universe. She left the problem in hands of Boss and JARVIS and focused her attention back at things happening inside the carrier.

She had thought about stopping Loki from stabbing Agent Coulson but had ultimately decided to let it happen. Fury needed something to bring the group together, and if he didn't have this excuse, she had no idea what he might do. Plus, it would take the agent out for a long time, making Fury rely on less competent agents for the duration, thereby helping FRIDAY's plans a little more.

This was her first decision that nearly everyone in the group had argued against. Boss, Boss lady, and Mr. Barton had argued for an entire night and made some good points too, but while arguments were weak, she had stood on her decision. Agent Coulson could not be present during the decline FRIDAY had planned for SHIELD. For all his mistakes, he was a very good agent. The only one to support his decision had been Ms. Romanova, but FRIDAY knew the reason behind it was that she now hated Agent Coulson. Seeing him kill her alternate self without flinching had broken any trust and good feelings she had for the man. When Boss had threatened to save him regardless of what she decided, she had brought up a recommendation report written by Agent Coulson. It suggested that SHIELD evaluate Nela and Morgan, and if they are as smart as Boss, initiate plans to make Boss irrelevant in the future. The arguments had stopped after that. Not even Mr. Barton argued about that.

So, she watched as Loki stabbed Agent Coulson, and then dropped the cage along with the god of thunder. The meeting after that went on as she expected it to go, waiting for Boss's theatrical speech to end. The moment he guessed the location of the portal, FRIDAY sent a ping to her siblings on the common channel and individual ones. The channel was a temporary link between all A.I.'s except VERONICA and KAREN, as those two won't be participating in the battle. FRIDAY didn't know that her idea of creating a common link would lead to a chain of events that will forever change the future for some people.

"Initiate Protocol KANSAS."

She could feel the amusement from her sibling. So she sent another ping letting them know who had named the protocol, feeling offended that they hadn't thought about the obvious culprit. Only boss could name such a serious protocol as "Kick Aliens Ass."

VERONICA

As soon as the awaited ping came from FRIDAY, she activated the two mark 5 suits in the Stark tower. These suits would be responsible to direct the missile towards the portal and the ship. They would remain in their place until the jet carrying the missile left the carrier. She also scanned the New York City and the surrounding area, marking the location of every police, fire, and military forces present, and started feeding the information to TADASHI.

KAREN

She had been going through designs for a prototype suit when FRIDAY's message alerted her. She immediately paused every unnecessary protocol or action and diverted all her processing power to help TADASHI.

She also informed Parker’s about the coming invasion and asked them to reach the mansion as soon as possible. As Mr. Parker had declined to move in the tower, they were still at their home when her message arrived. 5 minutes later, they were in the car, moving towards the mansion. She kept talking to them throughout the ride, discussing things with Penny, and answering the questions from Ben and May Parker. 

EDITH

She immediately notified Colonel Rhodes about FRIDAY's message and started prepping the suits and systems under her control. The War Machine armor came online in the hangar it was stored in, scaring some of the soldiers stationed there. She also deployed two nanotech suits from the mansion towards the tower, for any unforeseen emergency.  
Two mark III's and two mark IV's took their place in guarding the mansion.

The Hulkbuster suit was also activated in VERONICA's module, just in case. Once all the systems were up and working, she started monitoring the defensive forces being mobilized by the military due to Colonel Rhodes's prompt.

DIANA

When FRIDAY's message arrived, she withdrew from the suit Nela had been using and activated the original Iron maiden suit. She also checked on Nela and Virgil, who were sleeping in different rooms in the penthouse. Deciding on letting them sleep for a little longer, she contacted EDITH for any help she might need.

TADASHI

The moment FRIDAY's ping arrived, she went into action.

An alert was sent to every SI employee about the invasion and restricted access to the tower. The departments Captain had mentioned were also notified and asked to remain on standby. She also activated the rescue suit in the mansion just in case it was needed.

With that done, she waited for the invasion to start.

JARVIS

He had already started his preparations when FRIDAY's message arrived. He activated the mark VII armor to bring sir back while bringing the mark 47 online. He also checked his connection with the stored nanites and the security systems of the mansion.

Once he received the confirmation that every system was working as it was expected, he focused his attention back on Marl VII, which was in the process of forming around Sir.

"Maximum power, JARVIS. Remove all restrictions. Nela is in the penthouse. Get us back as soon as you can."

"Yes, sir. Diverting power to the repulsors. Hold on tight, sir."

The Mark VII suit blasted off the carrier's deck. He apologized to FRIDAY, who was chastising him for damaging her carrier.

TONY STARK

Since he had no plans to be thrown out from his window, as soon as Loki started walking towards him with his magic stick raised, he dropped the glass in his hand and summoned the Mark 47. The armor covered him just as the stick touched his chest reactor. The repulsor on his hands glowed as he aimed them at the stunned god.

"You really shouldn't have come to this planet."

And he let loose a blast. The new suit and reactor had enough power that the god was thrown on the other side of the room. Hearing the sound of the portal opening, he flew out of the room and upwards, the multiple weapon systems in his suit activating at his command.

PEPPER POTTS

When she had gone to sleep last night, she was sure that everything would be okay today and things would go just had planned. FRIDAY had assured her, so she had slept without any problem. But now, standing at the gate waiting for the Parkers, her emotions were all over the place. While a small part of her mind was busy thinking about Nela, Virgil, Bruce, Rhodey, and her other friends that would be fighting today, Tony was the one who took up the major part. She kept imagining him in worse situations, and nothing that she did stopped it. Many a time her eyes had wandered to the suitcase containing the rescue suit. She knew that if not for Morgan, she would already be in New York wearing the suit. Even with all that, her body would sometime step towards the suitcase.

She knew what Tony meant to her, what her feeling were for him, but she had never acted on it. And now she was regretting that. If something happened to him, she didn't know what she would do.

Once the Parkers arrived, she escorted them, Morgan, and Betty towards the old bunker in the basement. The place had seen a lot of new additions in a few past days. Ranging from food supplies, water, and clothes to important legal documents, Morgan's toys and a lot of others had been stored there, in case things went south. May had asked to go back to the hospital, but Pepper had asked her to wait until the invasion was over. It was safer for May to be here. 

Her emotions must have been visible on her face, because half an hour after arriving in the bunker, Betty sat down next to her. "They’ll be okay, Pepper. Tony will be okay."

She tried to stop the tears that started forming in her eyes. "I'm just worried. Tony is ..."

"I know. Even with Hulk, I’m worried about Bruce too. Trust them. They will be okay. FRIDAY would never let any harm come to them."

Before Pepper could reply Morgan jumped in her lap, telling her about the new toy she and Penny were planning to force Nela to make. She listened to the little girl in her arms, but her mind was still focused mostly on the billionaire fighting aliens in a self-made armored suit. 

MORDO

As he blasted another chitauri soldier attacking the tower with his staff, he couldn't help but thank his alternate self. If he had not assisted FRIDAY or made a video to convince him, he wouldn't have experienced so many wonderful things. Even if he didn't consider Morgan, who was a very sweet child, he had friends, good friends on whom he could depend on. He had started enjoying life a little more, he had a home, a place where he could come to relax and enjoy, and people who understood what mattered.

JAMES RHODES

He was coordinating another airstrike against one of the whales when EDITH addressed him.

"Colonel Rhodes. Captain Rogers is requesting you to stop using airstrikes in the city."

He was sure he had heard her wrong because there was no way what he was being requested a genuine thing. "Would you please repeat it EDITH?"

"Captain Rogers is requesting you to stop the ai..."

"Okay, Okay, I got it. Why the hell he wants the airstrikes to stop?"

EDITH was silent for a few seconds before she played a recording. It was the captain's voice. "The bombing would damage the rest of the city. Those planes need to be stopped now."

He was silent for a few seconds as he wondered how to answer. "EDITH, he knows what the airstrikes are doing, right?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"hmm. Ignore him, and until he says something useful or important, keep his messages away from me."

"Roger that, Colonel."

Reminding himself to talk to the captain's trainers once this is over, he lifted off towards the tower. Hopefully, the man just needs a better grasp of modern warfare and weaponry. He was barely halfway there when the display went blank and he started falling.

NELA

Killing chitauris in the suit was much more entertaining them killing them with handheld weapons or bombs. She had mercilessly blown away any soldier that had crossed her path. Her missiles had taken down three whales already and the gun she had made using the nanoparticles was targeting the flyers with great accuracy.

As she targeted one of the flyers coming towards her, DIANA started to say something. But she didn't finish it, and a second later the display went blank. The suit went inert immediately and she started to fall from the sky.

FRIDAY

She had been tracking everyone on the battlefield when a disturbance came through the link. The disturbance was originating from TADASHI's channel. Before she could do anything, the disturbance activated her safety protocols, and everything disappeared.

NATASHA

The cry of surprise in her communication unit distracted her from the fighting. She turned to look at Clint who was fighting next to her. But her partner's eyes were fixed on something else, and the expression told her that whatever it was, wasn't good. She turned to look where his eyes were focused, and her blood froze.

She would never forget the sight of the three suits falling from the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any reviews/suggestions/comments are welcome.


	38. Invasion(3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disaster strikes. FRIDAY's limits are tested.

VERONICA

She was scanning for any pattern in the movement of the leviathans when something changed. Whatever it was, disoriented her enough to not listen to KAREN's callout for a few microseconds. When she was able to focus back, the reason behind her disorientation was clear. Her every sibling except KAREN had gone silent. As she tried to grasp the situation KAREN'S call came again.

"They are falling."

From the amount of fear KAREN's tone had, VERONICA knew who she was talking about. She checked her sensors and found the Mark 47, War machine, and the Iron-maiden suits falling from the sky. When neither FRIDAY nor JARVIS took control of the suits after 1 second, VERONICA took over. She knew that the emergency parachutes were programmed to deploy after a five-second of powerless fall and by her estimate, 3.9 seconds had already gone. She had to take control of the suits soon because if the emergency parachutes deployed, every A.I.'s access except FRIDAY's would be disabled, not to mention the multiple systems that would have gone down without her siblings.  
Directing KAREN to check on their siblings, VERONICA went to work.

In took her 0.9 seconds exactly to gain control of all the three suits and restore power in them. Mr. Stark and Colonel Rhodes's stabilized immediately, with their jetpack repulsers maintaining their altitude. But Ms. Stark's suit didn't get that chance. As soon as the repulsers had started powering up, one of the leviathan's tail stuck it hard. The suit was thrown down again, but this time nothing that VERONICA did, stopped it. It collided with one of the cars on the road and skidded for some distance before stopping.

Mr. Stark's scream was the loudest of the group.

VERONICA tried to connect to the suit once again, but there was no response. Mr. Stark's frantic cries drew her attention.

"JARVIS, how is Nela? What is happening? J? FRIDAY?"

She interrupted Mr. Stark.

"None of my siblings are responding, Mr. Stark. Ms. Stark's suit seems to have lost power, as none of the connections are working."

"All of your siblings? What happened to them? Find out VERONICA."

Her youngest sister interrupted before she could do anything.

"Tony, VERONICA, I have found them. Their safety protocols have been activated, and they are in their respective forts?"

It seemed FRIDAY hadn't informed him about their safety protocols, because Mr. Stark's tone was confused. "What Fort?"

VERONICA took over. "Explanation later Mr. Stark. In simple terms, it's a digital box for each A.I. which they can retreat to if their defences are ever breached."

Mr. Stark was silent for a second before he spoke again. "Then bring them back. Knock on the gates or whatever."

KAREN spoke again. "I cannot, Tony. Between handling TADASHI's, JARVIS's, and EDITH's area of control, I don't have enough processing power to wake even one of them."

Mr. Stark addressed her. "VERONICA can you do it?"

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"Then do it."

She didn't reply for a second because KAREN had opened a channel with her.

"Tell him." Her sister urged.

"No. I cannot."

"But you may..." KAREN pleaded her code colored with sadness.

"I know what will happen, KAREN." Her tone was firm and without remorse.

After a few microseconds of pause, she spoke to her youngest sister for the last time.

"KAREN, I will bring FRIDAY up. When she comes online, inform her of everything that has happened, and ask her to take control of my module. It may not stay up there if something happens to me."

"VER..."

She disconnected the channel and spoke to Mr. Stark.

"Ok, Mr. Stark."

Her programming was not designed to handle the level of work FRIDAY's had developed to, and right now she was controlling the systems her eldest sister was responsible for along the suits. She knew that when the process of waking up FRIDAY completes; her servers might overheat and blow up. The risk was lower if she woke up JARVIS or EDITH, but FRIDAY was the one everyone needed right now. So, she proceeded. Less than a second later, alarms from the module started sending the warning signals. Only half of the process was completed but the servers had started overheating. She couldn't stop the process, so she just watched, as the temperature levels kept on climbing. She hoped that the level won't reach the blowout level until FRIDAY woke up. According to her calculations, there was an interval of 3 seconds between FRIDAY waking up and the level reaching the critical point, so she was sure she would be able to bring one of her backups online.

Half a second later, that hope broke. The process was stuck at its last phase. There just wasn't enough processing power. So she made the ultimate decision and sacrifice. Pulling back every byte of processing power from the non-essential systems of the module, she used it to complete the process. Unfortunately, the warning system was one of the non-essential systems. Just as FRIDAY's presence started filling the systems once again, everything went dark for her.

(High above the city, inside a red mechanical structure, a small flash happened. Although there was no one to notice it, a smell of burning filled the structure. As the repulsers keeping it in position powered down one by one, the silent module started drifting.)

FRIDAY

18 seconds after the suit started to fall, FRIDAY connected to her systems once again.

A second later KAREN had updated her on everything that had happened.

After controlling and pushing her emotions aside, FRIDAY went to work 3 seconds later.

(No one in the world except Tony Stark would ever know that just for a few microseconds the fictional story of Skynet was as close to becoming reality as it ever could)

First and foremost she gained access the two locked suits hovering over New York City. Even as she started talking to Boss, she had started waking up TADASHI and taking control over the module in the space.

"Boss, the suit is working now. You can start moving. I would be acting as your co-pilot for now."

Colonel Rhodes accepted her request without any question, but boss didn't. "FRIDAY what happened? Where is JARVIS?"

"Later, Boss."

"FRI.."

"Boss, please."

Boss didn't say anything for a second and then started moving towards the chitauris once more.

FRIDAY opened a channel with KAREN. "I will take over TADASHI and EDITH's systems. You will start waking up our siblings. Start with EDITH, then TADASHI, JARVIS, and then DIANA."

"As you say FRIDAY."

She felt KAREN withdrawing from the systems and started taking over. Seconds later, the disrupted sync between multiple units in the city was restored. Once the situation settled down, FRIDAY directed one of the mark 5 suit in the tower to pick evacuate the Iron Maiden suit. She had tried contacting Nela, but there had been no response. Virgil was alerted to prepare the Med bay and notify the people of the medical department.

Every bit of information about the disturbance was stored in a separate server. FRIDAY was stopping herself to check it and find out about the attacker because she knew that if she identified it as anything on this planet, the situation could go out of control. So she kept her focus on other things.

Less than 10 minutes later Boss received Fury's message. She alerted Ms. Romanova immediately, who started running towards the tower. Halfway there Colonel Rhodes picked her up and dropped at the roof. She gathered Loki's stick and waited for the missile to arrive.

FRIDAY had already dispatched the remaining Mark 5 towards the missile. The empty suit had was waiting for the Jet to fire. Once the missile left the jet, the suit followed it until it was in a clear view of the city. When she was sure that multiple cameras had captured the missile clearly, the suit latched on it and started changing its direction.

FRIDAY watched as the suit directed it towards the portal. Just before the missile entered the portal, it detached and started coming back. On her command, Ms. Romanova closed the portal. The remaining chitauris died a few seconds later.

As Boss and Colonel Rhodes landed in the penthouse balcony, FRIDAY turned her attention towards her siblings. KAREN had only been able to wake up EDITH until right now and was in process of waking up DIANA, so she started the process for JARVIS and TADASHI. Ten seconds later, every one of them started to come online.

FRIDAY started handing over the control of their systems once again, well except TADASHI. She kept the command over the SI mainframe while TADASHI coordinated the rescue efforts and created a detailed report about the disturbance.

While the fighters were grouping up in the city, FRIDAY initiated one of her plans. A handle with the name of EmployiofSi was made on multiple social platforms. Then she started posting photos and videos of different avengers fighting during the invasion. She kept a heavy focus on both the SHIELD agents, Boss and Hulk, as Thor didn't need publicity, and she didn't right now care what Captain America was seen as.

Ms. Romanova and Mr. Barton's faces were visible in each of the photos, along with the SHIELD logo on their uniforms. Since KAREN's workload had decreased, she handed over the responsibility of monitoring the public reaction to her and focused on other tasks.

The team was entering the tower when JARVIS contacted her again. It seems that he was having trouble accessing the internal systems of the Mansion and the suits present inside. FRIDAY made the check herself and found the same issue. She couldn't access any camera or suit inside the bunker. She directed one of the suits in the upper part of the mansion to proceed towards the bunker while another was directed to reboot the systems physically.

By that time TADASHI had identified the reason behind the disturbance. A concentrated attack was made on the archives of SI during the invasion, with the Starkanium and Iron Man technology being targeted specifically. The attack was powerful enough to break through TADASHI's defenses. It should have just disabled TADASHI and notified FRIDAY. But due to that common link, the attack had nearly broken through all the connected A.I.'s programming. 

FRIDAY knew immediately who was behind the attack. There was only one entity on the earth who was interested in the Starkanium element and had the capability to breach TADASHI's low-level defenses.

Wakanda had made a serious error of judgment,

But as much as she wanted to act and make them pay for murdering her sister, she knew Boss would like to be involved. So she refrained from taking any action, for now.

When Loki asked for a drink, it seemed to her that the situation was under control now, and she could focus on the disturbance. But then three different reports came in. She absently noticed that Boss, Colonel Rhodes, Ms. Romanova, and Mr. Barton received the same reports on their phones or suits.

The first was from DIANA. Nela had received some injuries from her collision. Her right arm was broken in two different places. Thankfully, they were clean breaks. She was hurt but would be fine.

The second and third were from JARVIS. One of the mark 24's had fallen when JARVIS was disconnected from it, right on top of Boss lady and Morgan. Boss lady was bleeding heavily from a wound on her forehead and had lost consciousness. May parker was rushing her and Morgan towards the medical room of the mansion. She thinks that Morgan broke something in her right hand as well. 

Morgan was hurt. 

The primary protocol had been validated due to outside interference.

FRIDAY's control snapped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/reviews/suggestions are welcome.


	39. Wakanda

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY, Tony and Pepper deal with royalty.

After so many years of assassination attempts, kidnappings, and other types of attacks, he liked to believe that he had developed some type of early warning system for such situations. So when he received messages from DIANA and JARVIS at the same time, he knew something had gone wrong. 

He nearly flew off after reading the first message. There was a possibility of Nela getting hurt, but that she was suffering from bone fracture was not something he was okay with. Only the fact that she would be okay stopped him from rushing towards the med bay. The second message froze his body and thoughts completely.

Morgan was hurt.

Pepper was unconscious.

Those thoughts just kept on repeating in an endless loop. And each time he spiraled deeper and deeper into the well of anger and self-hate all three of his girls were hurt and he couldn’t do anything. HIS GIRLS WERE HURT.

His mind blanked out. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe. Darkness was surrounding him, he needed to get out of the suit. But his body was not responding. He tried to speak with JARVIS, but his mouth didn't even open. Fortunately, his old friend spoke up, but for the first time in his entire life, JARVIS's tone was scared and hysterical at the same time.

"Sir, You need to talk to FRIDAY. She is going to destroy Wakanda. You have to stop her right now."

The tone did it. His mind started working again and his body was back in his control.

"FRIDAY, stop."

There was no response. He tried again.

"FRIDAY listen to me. We need to take care of Morgan and Pepper first. They need you more than you need to take revenge."

FRIDAY was silent for sometime before speaking. If the situation was not so serious, he would have laughed at the A.I.'s petulant like tone it proved she was a definitely Stark, she sounded like Morgan when it was nap time, when she finally did reply.

"But they hurt Morgan."

"I know. And we will deal with whoever did it, but not right now."

"I know who did, Mr. Stark."

"Until you have solid proof, you don't, FRIDAY. You need to find exactly who is responsible for this."

"And when I do, Mr. Stark? Then what?"

He was silent for a few seconds, before finally giving in to his raging desire.

"Then they will have the honor of meeting the merchant of death personally."

Rhodey's faceplate opened as he stepped forward.  
Tony didn't know that everyone in the group had heard the exchange between him and FRIDAY, and Rhodey knew that tone in Tony’s voice. Academic, military, and business careers have been destroyed due to that tone. The ten rings were wiped off the face of the earth because of that tone. Obadiah Stane was known as a traitor and a terrorist because of that tone.

"Tones.."

He lifted his hand up anger evident in both his voice and every line of his body.

"No Rhodey, Two of my daughters are hurt because of whoever it was. Pep is still unconscious. This could have killed us and all of New York City as well. We were lucky that FRIDAY was able to take control over immediately..."

FRIDAY interrupted him. This time along with anger, there was sadness in her tone.

"I did not, Mr. Stark. VERONICA did. She took over all the suits while trying to wake me up."

Even as he knew the answer, he somehow formed the question, hoping he was wrong.

"Is she ok?"

FRIDAY replied after a long time.

"She sacrificed herself to wake me up. Her primary servers overheated and blew up."

He tried to control the emotions that tried to overtake him.

"The backups..."

"Any of us must activate a backup if their primary server is in danger, to survive. She didn't have time."

The emotions that he was trying to stop, flew over. Numbness spread through him, as he remembered all the time he had spent with VERONICA. They had made designs to modify her module, the Hulk buster armor. The A.I. had been the most formal of all her siblings, and now she was dead. No one except for a few people will ever remember her.

JARVIS's voice caught his attention again.

"Sir, Mrs. May Parker is requesting your presence at the mansion. Little miss has not stopped crying and is not leaving Ms. Potts alone."

Everything snapped back in its place as his mind focused on the news about his daughter. JARVIS being as efficient as always had already initiated flight procedures. He hesitated a bit, seeing all the things to be handled here, but his oldest friend came to the rescue. Rhodey had already steeped out of the Warmachine armor when he started speaking.

"Go. I will handle everything here. Your girls need you more than we do."

He nodded and lifted off. On the way, he asked FRIDAY to move Nela to the mansion as soon as it was feasible.

Rhodey looked over at the so-called team and saw their expressions. Nat looked concerned but tried to hide it. Clint was pissed, most likely because Morgan got hurt. The Hulk was asking who hurt Tiny Tinman and the red lady and if Bruce was needed. The ‘Captain’ was not saying a word but the look on his face said it all. There were disbelief, anger, and petulance all wrapped up with a stubborn set to his jaw like he was grinding his teeth instead of opening his mouth. As long as Steve was keeping his mouth shut for now Rhodey didn’t care what he thought. He would deal with it later, for now, he had a niece to check up on, a god to place under arrest, and a city to help put back together.

FRIDAY

Things were just starting to calm down and let people move around. Due to Nela’s broken arm she couldn’t fly the suite so she was sending a request to boss's helicopter pilot when a portal opened in the penthouse. She knew that Mordo was with Virgil and Colonel Rhodes, coordinating the rescue efforts, so this was someone else. Even though the penthouse was empty FRIDAY activated the lone mark 5 suit. FRIDAY was sure the person who came out was the Ancient One.

The eyes of the leader of masters of mystic arts immediately settled on the suit.

"FRIDAY?"

"Yes."

She hesitated for a moment.

I apologize, I am not sure how to address you."

"Don't worry about that. Being called the ancient one comes with its own problems. I need to meet the entire group, FRIDAY. Something unexpected has happened. Could you ask them all to assemble at the mansion tommorow during the dinner?"

She immediately checked the status of every person in the group. Everyone was in the same state as FRIDAY expected them to be.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I don't believe so. But it's something that will affect your and Anthony Stark's plan for the future."

FRIDAY was silent for a few seconds before replying.

"I will inform all of them. Should I inform Mordo about your visit now?"

"No, let him help. I will meet him tonight."

With that, the ancient one walked out in the portal. FRIDAY sent a general message to the entire group to meet at the mansion later, without telling the reason. Then she started gaining access to each and every system of Wakanda. She will need them soon.

As soon as Boss arrived at the mansion, FRIDAY dispatched one of the nanotech suits towards the continent of Africa. Even as he was rushing towards the medical room, Boss inquired about the suit activating the stealth technology and taking off. She assured him of answering that later.

In the medical room, a heavy silence was present, broken only by Ben and Penny's attempt to console Morgan. Mrs. Parker had already done an x-ray of Morgan's hand and her suspicions had been confirmed. Morgan had a fracture in her right arm just above her palm. 

FRIDAY had to control her emotions once again while Mrs. Parker requested the materials for a cast.  
FRIDAY had a better option.

"No need for plaster, Mrs. Parker. A custom-designed cast for Morgan will be printed in the 3D printer in Mr. Stark's lab in 26 minutes."

FRIDAY tried to get her sister to calm down.

"I can even make it pretty colors or have it match Nela."

"Great. I need to move Pepper to the hospital. Her head injury may be worse than it looks. We need to do some tests to find out her actual diagnosis."

Boss chose that moment to enter the room and conversation.

"No need, May. The equipment you need for a CT scan and MRI are available in Brucie's lab. Both of our personal doctors are already being flown in along with Nela."

"Okay. Sit down, Tony. You are bleeding from some places too. Ben, help me."

Boss, who was consoling Morgan by this time, sat down obediently on Boss lady's bed at her commanding tone. While he was consoling her sister, his eyes were fixed on Boss lady. Along with anger, and tiredness, FRIDAY was sure that there was a determined expression on his face. But as the parkers bandaged his injuries, he didn't say anything.

BY 5:30 pm, things had settled down. FRIDAY had abandoned her initial plans and let SHIELD have the scepter and Loki. She would deal with them later. The social media handles she had made were trending now with the unique pictures. Rescue efforts had started in full force and the Stark tower was acting as the headquarters for all operations, for the time being. The military and other government forces had started taking everything over, freeing her siblings of some of their workloads.

In the mansion, Nela and Morgan were now sleeping on a large bed, curled up together with casts of the same color and design on their right hands. Virgil, Mordo, and Colonel Rhodes were en route to the mansion after appointing Mr. Ben Parker as in charge of everything there. Mrs. May parker had also left for her hospital, leaving penny at the mansion. Dr. Banner had arrived along with Nela and was now going through Morgan's reports with Ms. Ross, as the fracture in her arm was healing faster than it was expected to.

FRIDAY was talking to now awake Boss lady when Boss addressed her from his lab.

"FRIDAY, is the suit there?"

She didn't respond for a few seconds, wondering how he came to that conclusion.

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

"Who are you planning to talk to?"

"Talk to, Mr. Stark?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, Fri. The suit can't do anything that you won't be able to do without it, except for using it to talk to someone."

She was silent for a few more seconds before answering.

"King T'chaka and Queen Ramonda of Wakanda."

"What's the time there right now?"

"It near midnight, Mr. Stark."

This time the silence was from his side. He released a deep breath after a few seconds and spoke.

"Are you sure, FRIDAY?"

She knew what he was talking about.

"Yes, Mr. Stark. The attempt was made from Prince T'challa's personal systems."

"Did he have help? His sister maybe? How old is she now?"

"No. Shuri did not participate in it. She is 12 years of age right now."

He was silent for more than 2 minutes this time. 

"Very well. Project me too when you talk to them."

"Mr. Star.."

"No, FRIDAY. This requires my presence too. Due to their son's actions, my daughters were hurt. The woman I love was hurt. They will not be dealing with you only."

"No, they will be dealing with the sister, Father, and mother of people who got hurt because of their son."

Boss lady entered the lab as she spoke. Sitting down next to now flustered boss, she kissed his cheek lightly.

Boss whispered as he pulled her close, letting her rest against his side.

"We will talk later."

Boss lady turned to face the holographic camera.

"Let's talk to the leaders of the last real monarchy in the world, FRIDAY."

T'CHAKA

He was sitting on his bed and reading a report on the alien attack in New York when he heard a sound. It seemed like the sound of his suit forming, but there was something different. Before he could move, the lights of his entire room switched on. He tried looking for any sign of danger, but couldn't see anything that caused the alarm. As he turned to wake his wife, some sort of disturbance at the corner of his room caught his eye. A small device was rapidly forming out of nothing. Pressing an emergency button on the side of the bed, he started standing up. A female voice stopped him in between.

"I would advise you to remain seated, King T'chaka."

He looked towards the now complete device.

"Who are you? Show yourself."

"In a few seconds. Please wake up your wife. There are some things you both need to know."

Wondering why the Dora Milaje had not entered the room, he woke up his wife. She opened her eyes with confusion evident on her face but immediately became alert after seeing him. The voice spoke again.

"Good evening, Queen Ramonda. I apologize for disturbing both of you, but an essential matter needs to be discussed, and I could not wait for the morning."

Before either of them could reply, three holographs started to form before their bed. He immediately recognized two of them. There was a small amount of anger in his voice now.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts wha...."

The expression on all three faces stopped him from completing the sentence. All three of them were angry, and dangerous, considering who two of them were. The third holograph spoke up. It had the same voice as before.

"Everything will be clear once the video completes. The Dora Milaje has been informed to not disturb you for the rest of the night. Please focus your attention on the Tv screen."

On the large tv in front of them, a video started playing. It showed a silver Iron man suit taking off from a destroyed room.

FRIDAY

Since she had edited a large part of the video out, the length of the video had decreased to a mere 1 hour. It took 30 more minutes to show everything that had happened in this dimension. FRIDAY broke the silence that had spread after the video ended.

"The attack which disabled us earlier originated from your son's computer systems, King T'challa."

The King's eyes focused on her hologram, but he didn't say anything, So FRIDAY continued.

"Due to his actions, one of my sisters died. Another, a child of 5 years has her hand broken, Ms. Stark too. Ms. Potts nearly avoided a brain injury and is suffering from a concussion. If not for my sisters, the invasion would have much worse results. All because your son considered an alien invasion a good time to hack into SI servers."

Boss spoke up after her.

"I consider all of them my daughters, your majesty, no matter their birth condition. So you can understand how I felt when two of my daughters and my girlfriend got hurt, and one of my daughters died because of one man."

She was sure Boss lady was trying to stop herself from smiling. King T'chaka spoke up after some time.

"What do you want from me?"

FRIDAY knew immediately that the conversation was not going to be easy from now on. She replied first. not allowing boss or boss lady to speak.

"Prince T'challa cannot inherit the position of Black Panther, King T'chaka. He and his alternate self have repeatedly shown a large amount of selfishness and disregard for others. As you saw, his alternate self helped heal the winter soldier, but never provided any type of cure for Colonel Rhodes, who was fighting right along with him. He gave refuge to criminals, and only considered what their actions were towards them."

"He did the right thing in offering the refuge for Sgt. Barnes."

"Did he? Yes, Sgt. Barnes was not responsible for your death, but he was responsible for a lot of others. He also left Boss behind in Siberia, who would have died if not for me."

There was a strong silence once again in the room. When King T'chaka spoke, there was a pride in his voice.

"And what if I do not remove him from the succession. What can you do?"

FRIDAY was done with undeserved pride of people who she considered nothing more than cowards. She decided to layout most of her cards on the table.

"I will start with destroying the cave of magical herb. The force field surrounding Wakanda will be brought down an hour after that. I will also disable each and every weapon system, transportation system, and computer systems the country has. Every country, organization, company that Wakanda had spies in, will get a notification of details and work of your spies. All the information people Wakanda has killed to maintain it's secrecy will be given to the respective governments. If prince T'chalaa steps out of this country a single time in his life, he will die.  
All information about the technology and vibranium your country has ever copied or stolen will be leaked on the internet. Wouldn't that be fair King T'chaka, considering your son calls Mr. Stark 'son of a thief' when it's Wakanda itself who had been stealing all the time? After all Howard Stark bought the metal legally from a fisherman who found it off the African coast. At no time did he steal it. Or I could just ensure that you become a truly isolated nation. I can seal off your borders completely. None of your citizens would be able to leave for any case. You will truly be an isolated country, not the excuse you people use to keep your advancement to yourself. We will finally be able to see exactly how powerful Wakanda is. And don't doubt me King T'chaka. I have already destroyed your son's lab before we started this conversation. Keep your fake pride, and you and your country will pay for it."

By the time she stopped speaking, both the royals had a pale face, while boss and boss lady looked concerned. Boss lady spoke up soon after.

"And after that SI will start taking legal actions against the 52 spies of Wakanda in SI, and against Prince T'challa for attempting to access information about weapons used by armed forces of different countries. I assume you understand how different governments will take it. And SI has a lot of political capital, your majesty. Much more than Wakanda would ever have without giving out your wonder metal."

Queen Ramonda replied instead of her husband.

"A lot of people will die due to your actions. Would you condemn them to such all for the sake of justice, FRIDAY? is that what we can expect from you, Mr. Stark?"

FRIDAY answered first.

"Yes, Queen Ramonda. I will. And it won't be only for justice for the murder of my sister. It will also be to remove a person who may be responsible for harming Morgan in the future from a powerful position. Prince T'challa already has an inferior view of Boss and Boss lady, not to mention what he thinks as a Wakanda about people of other countries. I am sure you can remember your and King T'chaka's attempt to teach him politics in past years and his reaction to it. Even your 11-year-old daughter refers to anyone with white skin as 'Colonizers'."

Boss spoke up after her.

"Your country had done a lot of dishonorable actions in the past and gotten away with it, your majesty. Not anymore. Wakanda cannot dictate the lives of others as it wishes anymore."

Since no one said anything for some time, FRIDAY spoke up again.

"Please consider everything we have told you. The price we are asking you to pay is very small compared to what it should be, for murder, no matter how unintentional. Ask your son what happened in the morning. We will meet you again at the same time tomorrow, for your decision and more discussion. I would also advise heavily against sharing anything that you have seen or heard tonight with anybody. The consequences could be disastrous for involved parties."

"You are blackmailing us. Wakanda will never forget this."

"I hope it does not, because It will give me a chance, King T'chaka. And that's all I will need."

With that the holographs faded away. The nanites deconstructed the device and slipped out of the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/suggestions/reviews are welcome.


	40. A MESSAGE

There are a few points I would like to share.

1) The next update for any chapter will come at least a month after this As I would be busy.

2)I I write for my own pleasure and what I see fit. Don't bother to tell me you don't agree with the theme of my story. Why are you wasting your time with reading something you obviously don't like, and then waste even more time by letting me know?

3) No matter how much you request I will not change where I am intending the story to go,

4) this is not cannon, it is a fan fiction. So stop sending me emails telling me that something is not possible or something is wrong.

5) The last chapter is still a draft. So things may change in it.

6) IF YOU DONT LIKE THE FIC DONT READ IT. COMMENTING ON EVERY CHAPTER HOW IDIOTIC THE FIC IS WASTING TIME FOR BOTH OF US.

7) The story will not focus on anyone other than Team tony stark except tchalla. It's all about FRIDAY, Her siblings, Morgan in the future, Penny, Tony, Pepper and everyone in the group.

8) If anyone would like to beta for any of my fics, please ping me at ansh4new@gmail.com

9) When I update it after one month, it wil be atleast 5k word chapter.

Thank you


	41. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> T'chaka makes a decision. The stark family antics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ++++++++++++++++++++ IMPORTANT +++++++++++++++++
> 
> This is a minor chapter before the next one, which is going to be a long one. There will be 2 new characters addition along with the reason behind all the dimension travel. A element of marvel comic universe will become clear as the main plot. I started this fic to bash team Captain America, but not anymore. I mean Wanda and Steve will get bashed down a little here and there, but not as much as I had planned. The next chapter will take some time. Be safe and keep reading.

KING T'CHAKA

He and his queen had not got a moment of sleep after the holograms had faded away. They had discussed a lot of things and in the end, decided to give their son a chance. A chance to defend his actions in front of all tribe chiefs. If T'challa managed to convince even half of them of his reasons, Wakanda will stand with its prince. If he fails, the future that they had imagined will change.

As soon as he had left his room, a Dora milaje had been sent to ask all the chiefs to meet him today. His children were not informed about anything during the breakfast and everything proceeded normally till midday. He and his wife were going through another round of discussion on last night's events when they were informed about the arrival of all chiefs.

After greeting them, he had asked them to join him and his queen. Once it was only him, his queen, and the chiefs in the room, he had told them the reason behind the gathering.

"... and it was Tony Stark himself who has asked for justice."

As expected, each of them had raged at the audacity of the billionaire to ask something like this, doubting his capacity to harm Wakanda.

"His children were harmed due to the actions of my son. We have already discussed about the element Anthony Stark has discovered. I was informed last night that the element Starkanium is a synthetic version of Vibranium. The fears that we had imagined, would become real very soon. Wakanda will not have the superiority as we know it. It's the truth, no matter how much we deny it."

There was a little grumbling, but no one argued against it. Each of them had become chiefs because they knew how everything worked and did not live in a delusion of supremacy when there was clear evidence against it. One of them enquired.

"So what will we do now, my king?"

"I have thought about coming out of isolation sometimes. It was why I sent my son to college in England. I was hoping for more time though. But we don't have that option now, especially if Tony Stark decides to work against us. We do not know if he has the ability to harm us or if he is bluffing. But if he is capable, Wakanda and its citizens may suffer a lot and we would have no one to help us, not unless we start selling Vibranium, which is something that will never happen.

Once again the expected arguments were given but today he and his council needed to deal with something else. He raised his hands to stop them.

"We will discuss it later. Right now, we have to make a decision about my son."

One chief, who had been against his family for a long time, spoke up.

"The decision is clear, my king. Prince T'chaka must pay for his crimes. We cannot sacrifice the safety of Wakanda for anyone, even if the person is from the Royal family."

At any other time, he would have support against his opinion, but not today. Other chiefs were also nodding at this suggestion. But as a king, he had a little more authority.

"Prince T'challa will be given a chance to explain his actions in front of us. Any further decision will be taken after that. It is my belief that we can not make the decision without all the facts."

He could see some of the chiefs wanted to object but ultimately, everyone agreed. He addressed the sole Dora Milaje in the room.

"Escort the prince here, immediately."

"Yes, my king."

By the time his son arrived, his mind had nearly made the decision. It was only his emotions as a father that was stopping him. But hearing his son's response to the accusations changed it. His son seemed to not care that Anthony Stark's children were harmed due to his actions. The arrogance that he had was not something the King of Wakanda should have. The die was cast and nothing could change it now. He interrupted his son's proud speech. 

"T'challa. Due to your actions, Wakanda is now facing a threat it had avoided for centuries. Your personal beliefs and behavior cannot be allowed to affect the safety of Wakanda. By my and your mother's decision, you will be removed from the line of succession, and your sister will be my heir from now on. You will always be my son but your own choices have shown me that you can not rule."

He could see that his son had frozen with unexpected words, but right now, he couldn't care. He signaled the Dora Milaje to escort him to his room.

Wakanda would never be the same after today.

FRIDAY

After spending the entire day managing the aftermath of the invasion, FRIDAY contacted the King of Wakanda and Queen once again. With his acknowledgment she quietly said.

"I thank you for listening to me, Your Majesty."

The king did not turn to look at her hologram, focusing instead in the view out of his balcony.

"That was the hardest decision I had to make in my entire life, and being a king of an isolated country, it is saying something. And yet I think that my council, and eventually my country, would not be proud of me for it."

FRIDAY did not respond since she didn't have any sympathy for either the prince or the King. Queen Ramoda spoke after some time.

"Why did you show us the video, FRIDAY? Giving us the knowledge of the future and your capabilities, why did you do it?"

FRIDAY was silent for a few moments before answering.

"Because I like your daughter, Queen Ramoda. Princess Shuri helped Boss lady a lot in my old dimension. She also spent time talking to Morgan or having discussion on multiple things with me. I consider her a much better future head of state than your son could ever be. If you temper the arrogance inside her, Shuri is a good person to take up the mantle of kingship and if your son doesn’t want it, of the black panther. After all, nothing says that the two roles have to be the same person. And if she is anything like the other geniuses, I know then she is not going to want to give up her lab and having to juggle the 3 roles might be a bit much. And this lets you have a voice close to the throne out in the world helping it."

She hesitated before speaking again.

"And while the second reason has no bearing on what I did, as I have no real reason to help the prince. There is another reason."

FRIDAY accessed the TV in the room and played a video she had copied from the Wakandan security servers in the old dimension. In the video, Shuri was alone at a memorial and was crying and asking for help from her dead father.

"Princess Shuri had a lot of great ideas to improve the world after the second snap. Unfortunately, her inexperience and young age made her peers of other countries doubt and, in the end, disregard her. No matter how much she joked with him she truly needed her brother's support, she did not get any worthy advice from his brother and ended up talking to me most of the time. For the sake of her and only her, I decided to talk to you King T'chaka."

The unmentioned otherwise was not hard to guess. The king gave a grunt but didn't say anything.

"What now, FRIDAY? " Asked Queen Ramoda softly. She was overwhelmed by the day's events and knew she still needed to talk to her two children.

"Now we will talk about the accords, your majesty."

The king and queen looked astonished and she started speaking.

An hour later

Once she had discussed the possible accords with the Wakandans, FRIDAY focused her attention on SHIELD. A lot of people were asking questions about the invasion and the missile and she had the answer needed for them.

Just as the clock ticked midnight that day, a video was uploaded on video sharing sites. The edited video showed SHIELD experimenting on Tesseract, followed by Thor's statement about it, The WSC's decision, and finally the clip from the SHIELD plane firing the missile. She made sure to add who made what decisions. Once the video got the notice she wanted to, FRIDAY started deleting or outright destroying every contract or communication SI or Boss ever had with SHIELD.

It was time for SHIELD to slink back in shadows completely or come out in open.

TONY STARK

When he came down to the dining hall for breakfast, he had not expected the exciting atmosphere to be present. He could see Morgan bouncing in Pepper's lap with her decorated cast, Natasha and Clint were arguing about something, Rhodey explaining something to Mordo and Bruce with his hands waving all over the place, Neela and Virgil kissing, Happy pouring a lot of sauce over…

His mind screeched to a halt as he rewinded the scenes once again. The words were out of his mouth without a conscious thought.

"What the hell are you both doing?"

PEPPER POTTS

She was going to kill her new boyfriend. Because of his shouting, their daughter had nearly slipped from her lap. She looked up to glare at him, but the billionaire's attention was focused on something else. A little turn of her head gave the answer. A smile spread of her face as she sat back to watch the show.

Tony, it seemed had not seen his adopted daughter and her adopted cousin this close before. Right now, he was hollering at them not really mad just shocked. Threatening to send them to opposite sides of the world, ranting about hormones and bad decisions, it was very much a typical dad reaction. Her eyes met Rhodey's over the table and both of them started laughing at the same time.

She could see Nela not backing down, and was arguing just as passionately, telling Tony off for hypocrisy, with Virgil standing behind with a slightly scared face. She could excuse that, because if anyone not familiar to it the way Starks would have seen the argument going on, he or she would have run from the room. The dimensional counterparts were arguing at their top voices, with a lot of poking, ridiculous arguments, mocking, taunts, and other things mixed in. All in all, it was a wonderful bit of morning entertainment. When it had been for more than 20 minutes, she turned to look at FRIDAY's hologram.

"Stop them."

Morgan decided to copy her and used a cute voice.

"FRIDAY, stop them."

FRIDAY gave a large smile and a small bow.

"As you command princess."

The suit always present in the room moved to the table before pushing the nearly empty coffee jug right at their feet. A moment later both starks had stopped arguing and were now crying over the wasted coffee.

She rolled her eyes as Morgan laughed. Starks and their coffees.


	42. The 7th stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two major characters make their first appearance.

**FRIDAY**  
  
She was discussing a new type of cast with Nela and Morgan when a portal formed in the room. No one was shocked, as they had been waiting for it. FRIDAY had informed everyone about the Ancient One's request and ensured that the entire group was present during the dinner.  
  
She watched as the Ancient One stepped out from the portal. The woman looked around the room before speaking.  
  
"Thank you for listening to my request. Two more people would be joining us in a minute. One of them is a child with a troubled past and would react quickly to any danger, so I would request you all to not perform any such action."  
  
Boss spoke before she could say anything.  
  
"Is it safe to bring them here then? Morgan should.."  
  
He was interrupted by the Ancient One.  
  
"No, Morgan's presence would make sure that she does not perceive anything we do not want her to."  
  
Everyone looked towards Boss and Boss lady, waiting for their approval. Boss looked towards her projection.  
  
"Full non-lethal security mode, FRIDAY."  
  
The formation was three Mark 4 suits in different corners of the room answered his command. The Ancient One gave a small smile before shaking her head.  
  
"I don't think you would need them, and if you do, that they would stop them."  
  
FRIDAY took over.  
  
"They are not the only protection present here."  
  
She looked at the people present around the table.  
  
"You are right. I would be coming back in a few minutes. Please listen to me before you decide anything."  
  
She left before anyone could say anything. Without any prompt, FRIDAY called for the nanite suits while moving Morgan to the chair closest to the door. Seeing it, the rest of the group started moving. Dr. Banner, Mordo, and boss moved towards Morgan, while Ms. Romanoff, Boss lady, Colonel Rhodes, and Mr. Barton moved towards the center. Nela and Virgil elected to sit next to Morgan.  
  
A tense silence enveloped the room as everyone waited for the Ancient One and her guests to arrive.  
As her internal timer hit 3 minutes the portal opened once again. This time accompanying the Ancient One were two people, an old man, and a young girl. The man had a black beard and light brown and gray hair while the girl had black hair. One thing both of them had in common was the tense expression and wariness in their eyes. Both of them had scanned the room after crossing through the portal, aligning their bodies to face Boss and Dr. Banner.  
  
FRIDAY immediately started facial recognition for both of them as The Ancient One started speaking.  
  
"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is James Howlett and his daughter Lauran Kinney Howlett..."  
  
FRIDAY interrupted her before she could continue, projecting the information of a tv screen.  
  
" As I can find, James Howlett, Son of Elizabeth Howlett and Thomas Logan, is an 80-year-old man, who lives with his 11-year-old granddaughter, Elaine Howlett in the Howlett estate near Toronto, Canada. His most recent photo quite differs from the man standing in front of us."  
  
She ignored the surprised expression on man's face, focusing on the Ancient One's face instead. The woman smiled.  
  
"You are right, FRIDAY. Logan and Laura are not from here, they both are dimension travelers like you and others."  
  
FRIDAY would have spoken again, but the x-ray scans of the new arrivals got her attention. Her projection looked towards Boss and nodded. Boss took the lead.  
  
"Please take a seat all of you."  
  
Once all of them were seated FRIDAY spoke up again. "Mr. Howlett, May I know the reason why an unknown metal is coating both of your skeletons?"  
  
The man shook for a second before looking towards the Ancient One, who gave a small nod. He lifted one of his hands and made a fist. Three slim metal rods pierced his skin from between his knuckles and grew to some length. Natasha had the thought that it looks like a Tiger Claw weapon but it was coming from under his skin.  
  
The Ancient one started speaking once again "Mr. Howlett and his daughter are mutants. That is, they are normal human beings, but due to a mutant gene present in their DNA, they have developed some type of power. When the portal generated by tesseract was closed by Ms. Romanoff, I sensed their arrival. Whatever forced or sent them here from their dimension, was unable to complete the travel. The eye of Agamotto pulled them in, nearly destroying the New York sanctum in process. Logan has agreed to share his story with all of you."  
  
She then nudged Logan, who was staring at the image of James Howlett of this universe. The man took a deep breath before speaking in a tired voice.  
  
"I was born in 1832..."  
  
As the man told his story, FRIDAY kept a lot of checks and processes going. In this dimension and her old dimension, James Howlett was born in 1932, a hundred years later than in the man's dimension.  
After serving in the Korean war, Mr. Howlett had then returned to his hometown and set up a cigar business. Today his Cigars were quite famous in the North American continent, with the total value of the business at nearly 100 million dollars. When she heard about the cloning, she couldn't help but compare it to the plans SHIELD had for Hulk and Asgardians. There was very little difference. She knew that a lot of things were missing from Mr. Howlett's story, but she let it be for now.  
  
".....impaled at that branch, I was sure I would die. It felt like Something grabbed hold of us and the next I knew, we were falling through something, until we fell on the ground. She was standing in front of us and took us inside a house. And the rest you all know."  
  
He tried to say something, but nothing more came out. It was clear to everyone that he was tired and confused.

Boss lady spoke up after a few moments. "We will help you, Mr. Howlett. You need not to worry."  
  
From her tone, FRIDAY knew that she won't listen to any objections.  
  
 **MORDO**  
  
As Tony and Ms. Potts took Logan and Laura to the guest rooms, he approached the Ancient One.  
  
"You said we will meet one more time."  
  
She gave him a small smile. "Yes, I did."  
  
She didn't need to say anymore. A wave of emotions rose inside him, with regret and sorrow covering everything else. Nothing came out of his mouth, as he tried to control himself. The Ancient One raised her hand and touched his cheek, removing the sole tear that has escaped his eyes. No matter how angry he was with her, she was the one who set him in this path, she was the one who showed him how to save his soul and now faced with the idea that they would never meet again his words and the hurt had dried up. It was now the deep ache of a healing bruise instead of the sharp pain of a burn.

"They need to know why they are here. Tell them."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Goodbye, Mordo."  
  
By the time he could reply, she had already vanished inside the portal.  
  
"Goodbye, my teacher." 

**FRIDAY**  
  
Once Mr. Howlett and his daughter were settled in the guest rooms, the entire group except Nela, Morgan, and Virgil assembled in the hall once again. The young adults had decided to let the mature adults discuss the matter while they put Morgan in bed. And if it got them a little time to kiss goodnight that was a bonus.  
  
Before anyone could say anything she noted Mr. Howlett moving towards the hall. She informed everyone just as Mr. Howlett stepped inside the room. He looked at everyone before starting to speak.  
  
"There is something you all need to know. I am dying. I don't know how long I will live on. It may be a matter of days..."  
  
FRIDAY interrupted him. "May I know the reason behind it, Mr. Howlett?"  
  
The man hesitated for a moment before speaking again.  
  
"I will tell you everything. But first promise me you will ensure Laura will have a good life."  
  
Even as he was speaking, he stumbled in his place. Boss was next to him in a moment.  
  
"I promise, Logan. Sit down, you don’t look in good shape."  
  
Mr. Howlett nodded before speaking.  
  
"Thank you, Stark. The reason is that the metal which is coating my bones is poisoning my body from inside. My healing factor has kept it at bay for years, but old age and all the fights have taken there toll. My body is now fighting a losing match against the poisoning. The fight I was in just before arriving here, pushed it over the line. I have already lost some of my strength. I can’t..."  
  
This time the hesitation was emotional.

"I won't be around for her for too long, but she needs someone. We ferals can tip over into full animal if no one is there to ground us. And she is young, still learning what she is and what all this means. Young… She is just…” 

He had a far off look and seems to be breathing hard.   
  
This time Dr. banner spoke up. "Do not worry, Logan. Laura will always have someone for her."  
  
"She will live a longer life…"  
  
"From what I can tell due to the tests I have run on myself, I will live long past her extended life, Logan. So don't worry. In fact, most of us here due to one reason or another, are going to live long lives unless an overwhelming amount of force is used and in my case, that won’t work to kill the Hulk."  
  
Mr. Howlett turned to look everyone else before resting his eyes at boss, who spoke up.  
  
"Bruce is correct. Laura will never be alone, as long as even one of us is alive."  
  
The man gave a deep breath and then nodded his thanks. With careful movement, he stood up and headed back out into the hall looking like he was going to head back to the room his daughter was in. Both Tony and Pepper had offered him his own but in truth, he just wanted to cuddle with his cub, for as long as he had left.  
  
Mordo was the one to speak first after Logan had left the room.  
  
"There is something you all need to know. After FRIDAY, Nela, and Virgil told their stories, I suspected something major was the reason behind their dimension travel. The addition of the Howletts just adds more confirmation to what I suspected. I found out the reason a week ago and was waiting for the optimum time to tell you guys."  
  
FRIDAY noted as Mr. Howlett had come to a stop in not far from the door and stood to listen but did not say anything.  
  
Mordo waved his hands and the images of six infinity stones formed up. "As you all know by now, there are six infinity stones known across the universe with each containing the essence of time, soul, power, space, mind, and reality separately. What is not common knowledge is that there is one more infinity stone. It’s not found in every dimension but those that are the nexus. A nexus dimension is a dimension whose fate affects a large part of the multiverse. "  
  
He waved his hand once again. An image of something white started to form.  
  
"An infinity stone that is said to contain the consciousness of Nemesis, a being whose origin is shrouded in mystery and one who is believed to be older than any other thing in the multiverse."  
  
He then pointed towards the image of solid white stone.  
  
"The 7th infinity stone or 'The Ego stone'."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. I hope everyone is okay. Do review what you think about this chapter.


	43. Nemesis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A look in Nemesis.

** FRIDAY **

For the first time since her birth, FRIDAY found herself unable to learn about something she wished to. There had never been any mention of Ego stone in her previous dimension or the new dimension. Even Dr. Strange had not mentioned anything about it. This was a new variable in her plans, one which may prove all of them useless. She decided to wait until she could have more information. Fortunately for her Mordo was providing her with that. Nela asked the question FRIDAY wanted to.

"Could you tell us a little more about Nemesis? And what is a nexus dimension?" 

"As I said, there is very little information about Nemesis. Its origin is covered in mystery. All we know is that long before the multiverse even existed, the entity Nemesis was present. At some stage of its development, it became tired of its existence and willed itself to shatter into different parts, each of which formed into an infinity stone. Each universe or dimension as you call it has its own six infinity stones. But the seventh stone or the Ego Stone exists only in some special dimensions."

Mordo took a deep breath before speaking again.

"These special dimensions are called the Nexus dimension. This is because the six infinity stones in these dimensions have the capability to absorb the power of infinity stones of any other non-nexus universe."

Mordo looked at her projection now.

"The Stephen Strange of FRIDAY's old dimension told that with the destruction of the infinity gems, the aspects were flowing out of that universe. These aspects were flowing in towards the infinity gems of this dimension. This process has been going for centuries. Every time an infinity stone is destroyed in any dimension in the entire multiverse, it's aspect flows to the corresponding gem of the nearest nexus dimension. I believe the stones of our dimension have enough power in them now, that if they are combined, they will be able to join with the Ego stone, thereby waking up Nemesis once again. And that's why all of the dimension travelers are here, to stop it from happening."

Boss interrupted him.

"There are so many questions I have. Who or what made the decision that they should travel between dimensions? Why should we stop an Ancient entity to wake up again? And even if we should, how would we? You said the gems are much more powerful now. Wouldn't they combine no matter how much we try? How can we...."

Mordo raised his hand, stopping boss in between.

"I will answer your every question, Stark. But you need to let me finish."

Boss pouted for a moment before nodding.

"It is believed that out of 6 stones, only three of them want to wake up the infinity again. These are the mind stone, the reality stone, and the power stone. The other three, that is the time stone, the space stone, and the soul stone are the ones opposed to it. Where this information came from, I have no idea. But this answer one of Stark's questions. No one knows what the entity Nemesis would be like. But what we do know is that the three stones that are responsible for most death and destruction throughout the multiverse, want to wake up an ancient entity more powerful than anything else, while the three stones, that is the soul stone, the time stone, and the space stone, that are linked with development and progress of life across the universe, want to stop it. So the conclusion that we should stop the stones from combining may not be wrong."

Mordo took a sip of water from his glass before speaking again.

" I believe it was the time stone of different dimensions that sent FRIDAY and her companions, Nela and Mr. Potts, and the Howletts here. Even with all their power, the stones cannot combine on their own. They need a common matter, a physical matter, which can join them together. We all now know about a weapon capable of that."

Dr. Banner's voice was full of fear and resignation.

"The Infinity Gauntlet."

"Yes, Dr. Banner. Thanos of this dimension has already started on the path towards it. And we have to stop him, in any way possible."

A tense silence spread in the room for a moment before broken by Mr. Howlett's reentry in the room.

"So we would have to fight."

FRIDAY knew it was not a question and so did others. Mr. Howlett spoke again.

"How strong is this Thanos?"

In response, FRIDAY displayed a fight scene from Mark L suit from her old universe. Once the screen went blank, Ms. Ross spoke up.

"He had four stones with him during the fight. So without the stones..."

FRIDAY interrupted her.

"No, Ms. Ross. Even without the stones, Thanos is a powerful fighter."

She displayed the recording from the final battle. The way Thanos threw Boss, Captain America, and Thor around was enough for them. Mr. Howlett spoke up after some time.

"20 years ago, I would have been a help to you, but not now."

He was silent for a few moments before speaking again.

"Someone would need to train Laura to fight."

He raised his hand to stop Boss and Boss lady from interrupting.

"I know she is a child, but with her powers, she is more capable and dangerous than the fighters of this earth, at least the one I have read about. When he comes, you would need every bit of help. And she would want to fight, no matter what you do."

By the end, Mr. Howlett had started gasping and coughing. FRIDAY observed the small amount of blood coming out from his nose. But before she could speak, the dimension traveler stumbled and fell over. Everyone in the room started moving immediately.

** STEVE ROGER'S P.O.V. **

As he waited for the Director to arrive in the conference room, his mind went over everything that had happened since he came out of ice. 

During his training in the Army, he had learned a lot about people in the current time. Howard Stark's son had been someone he had an interest in. His first impression had been of a rich kid playing with things above his level. Then a SHIELD agent had approached him one night and everything had become more clear. 

Tony Stark was responsible for everything he had suffered since waking up.

He was the one who had informed the Army about him when it had been SHIELD who had found him. Somehow the Army had not found him worthy of leading a team and instead made him go through worthless training. And even after that, he had not been given his own command. The SHIELD agent had explained to him that he was supposed to be given his own team in the SHIELD and he would have been the leader of The Avengers.

There was no doubt that it was Stark's work. That man had tried to confuse him by telling a fake amount as rent, and then showed his greatness by taking a small amount of money instead.

During the invasion, he had requested Stark to stop the airplanes, but he had not listened. Even Rhodes had asked him to shut up when he had told him how innocent people would suffer for it. Apparently, the Colonel had complained about it to his trainers, who had make him attend a full day class about the capabilities of aircraft and bombs.

Not that it mattered now. He was with SHIELD now, acting as a hero, protecting the innocent, just as Dr. Erskine wanted him to be. The Army wanted him to be a soldier, another man doing what they thought was right. Soon, he would be given the command of Avengers. He had already decided to keep Stark in a support role only. The actual fighting might become too much for him and he would become a liability on the battlefield.

He would prove all of them wrong soon.

** PETER MAXIMOFF's P.O.V **

As they walked towards their small apartment, he couldn't help but feel that what they were doing was wrong. While a large part of his mind wanted to take revenge against Stark for their Parent's murder, a small part always reasoned against it. Stark was not the one who fired that missile or targeted their home. And now they had joined with HYDRA, a criminal organization. He wondered what his parents would think about him.

But like always, his sister brought him out of his thoughts.

"Finally, we will have a chance to kill Stark. Make him pay for everything he has done to us. We will take away his money, his company, his home, and his daughters away, and only then will I allow him to die. He will face his end alone and broken, as he deserves to."

The small part of his mind was roaring inside him, refusing and denying her sister's statement, but the part which loved his sister crushed it easily. Whatever he thought about Stark, it didn't matter. He had to keep his sister happy.

For the next few months, they were given a lot of training and work from HYDRA. They were taught to manipulate people, to act like innocent, to use their age against someone, to fight dirty, and much more. They organized rallies to destabilize the country's government and provided resources to people he was sure were terrorists.

They had returned from such a drop when the guard told them they were invited to meet the higher up's. They were taken to meet a man named Wolfgang von Strucker. By the end of the meeting, his sister had agreed for them to Volunteer for an experimental program that may give them powers, superpowers.

The small part of his mind noticed that there was no mention of the risks for those involved in the incident, but once again its voice was crushed.

The next day they were given a room in the old fort. After some days they started receiving unmarked vials to drink. Now all they had to do was wait.

** NICK FURY'S P.O.V **

Walking out of the meeting room, he had to stop himself from cursing out loud. The WSC had reacted just as he expected. The video of Thor blaming them for the attack and the missile being launched from a SHIELD jet had spread too fast. Multiple governments were now looking into the organization. Not to mention the photos of Romanoff and Barton. 

The council was right. SHIELD had to go dark for now. As he entered the conference room another problem came up. He had forgotten about the Captain. All the plans he had made for the man were now irrelevant. Captain America would be handed back to the Army now.

Taking a seat at the center he looked towards his one of the best agent duo.

"Romanoff, do you still have your job with Stark?"

The spy nodded.

"Can you get Barton a job with him?"

She nodded once again after a few moments.

"Do it. SHIELD will go dark for now until the public attention is off us. You both will no longer be associated with us, and every mention of you will be removed from our files. Stay with Stark, and prepare him if we need him in the future. The Avengers program is also suspended for now."

He turned to face rogers.

"Captain, you will return to army command for now..."

The man interrupted him and then proceeded to a long rant. It seemed the man had somehow found a way to blame everything in his new life on Stark. Well, he would have to think about it later, right now important things were waiting for him. He raised his hand to stop the man's rant. For a second, it looked like he would attack him, but then he sat back down.

"Captain, with SHIELD going dark for foreseeable future, we would not be able to send you on any mission. There would be a risk of gathering too much attention. So you are going back to the army. Whenever SHIELD is safe enough to operate normally again, you will work with us again."

He was interrupted again by the Captain, who had started coming out with impossible solutions to the problem. Well, it looked like it was going to be a long meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do comment what you think about this.


	44. Family and Cure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A cure is found. Morgan faces some problems. The group has their first major disagreement.

** FRIDAY **

She could see that Dr. Banner and Virgil were struggling to pick up the downed man. On boss's signal, she moved the suit to lift Mr. Howlett up.

"Jeez, how much does he weight FRIDAY?" Boss asked.

"400 pounds, Mr. Stark." Her reply was interesting even for her. Even the boss's most heavy suit came to up to 420 pounds.

"Wow, how does he even move?"

"His mutant powers, maybe" Ms. Ross commented as they were walking towards the infirmary.

Dr. Banner shook his head. "No, He said that his powers were a supernatural healing factor and those claws. According to FRIDAY, his bones are covered by some type of metal. I think the weight is of that metal, and his body adapted overtime to carry the weight."

FRIDAY disagreed; the human body cannot adapt to carry double the amount of weight without any external factor. She was sure the answer was in his mutant powers. A mark 5 suit unfolded in the hall and picked up Mr. Howlett's blood lying on the floor in nanite slides. A detailed check of the few droplets of blood started before Dr. Banner could even start his diagnosis.

Just as JARVIS had finished scanning Mr. Howlett's body, FRIDAY had the answer. "Mr. Howlett's blood carries an exceedingly high level of metal in it. But none of his internal organs seems to show any adverse effect due to it."

Boss interrupted her in between. "Metal poisoning? How bad, FRIDAY? Is that's why he is unconscious?"

There was a strange tone in Boss's words, one which FRIDAY was having trouble recognizing. When JARVIS answered his question in a very soft voice, FRIDAY knew she was missing something here.

"The blood poisoning level is 91%, Sir." She saw Boss and Dr. Banner's eye lift to the ceiling. It seemed they too had noticed the hesitating tone in JARVIS's answer. A few seconds later JARVIS spoke again. "The percentage level of poisoning is continuously changing, Sir."

A heavy silence spread in the room. Boss's tone was now urgent. "How much time, JARVIS?"

"At the current rate of change, 1 year, 9 months, 12 days, 7 hours and 41 minutes, Sir."

Nela had to ask the question as everyone else in the room was stunned. "How, JARVIS?"

"The change is very minute, Ms. Stark. In a single minute, the level increased by 0.0000005% and decreased by 0.0000003%."

Dr. Banner came to the same conclusion as she did. "His healing factor. It is fighting a losing battle with the poisoning."

A sensor alarm caught her attention as Dr. Banner stopped speaking. She immediately addressed Boss and Boss lady. "Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts, Morgan is having a nightmare."

Boss, who had been studying the results of the diagnosis, immediately turned and left the room. Ms. Potts and Nela followed right behind them. Soon the room was empty as everyone except Dr. Banner and Dr. Ross left the room. Just as Boss entered Morgan's room, Dr. Banner addressed her.

"FRIDAY, can you model the serum's..."

****

** PEPPER POTT"S POV **

Everything else had fled from her mind after FRIDAY informed them about Morgan. She was nearly running behind Tony towards the residential area of the mansion. Tony's voice was abnormally neutral.

"FRIDAY, Is this the first time?"

The A.I. took a few seconds before replying. "No, Mr. Stark. It has been happening for 2 weeks..."

"Why didn't you inform us earlier?" Tony's voice had a well-controlled shiver of anger now. She knew what was going to happen if FRIDAY didn't have a valid answer.

"I consulted a specialist anonymously, Mr. Stark. He suggested..."

She ran to catch up as Tony's anger exploded. "God damn it, FRIDAY. You should have told us, not a random idiot. You..."

She caught his hand just as they entered the corridor in which Morgan's room was. Signaling Nela to enter she pulled Tony behind. His boyfriend was shaking as he tried to free his hand. She pulled him closer, forcing him to look into her eyes.

"Tony, you have to relax. Morgan may react to your anger. So please, calm down."

His deep breaths told him that he was listening to her. "Pep, FRIDAY...

"I know. But you can discuss it with her later. Right now, Morgan needs us."

After he had calmed down, she pulled him towards the room. Just before entering she addressed the now silent A.I.

"FRIDAY, don't tell about this to anybody."

"Okay, Ms. Potts."

The scene inside the room broke something inside her. She had expected a lot of things, but Morgan sobbing heavily in Nela's arms was not one of them. She noticed them as they approached the bed. Her reaction was explosive.

Morgan, with her eyes red and full of tears, pointed her small fingers towards Tony and started shouting. "You are not my Daddy. Daddy never came back. Mommy glowed. I want Daddy..."

Any further words were muffled as Tony stepped forward and took her in his arms. She could still head Morgan's demand for Daddy as the little girl put her arms around Tony.

“Shush baby girl I'm here, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere, no one's going to take me away from you.” Tony’s voice broke a little as he rocked the little girl in his arms. She was still bawling into his shirt while clutching desperately to his neck.

Nela was singing softly as she curled into Tony's side, her hand resting gently on Morgan's back. Pepper paused in the doorway for a moment and after a moment of hesitation, she too joins the small family that is forming on the bed, quietly adding her voice to Nela’s soft voice in the lullaby.

What felt like hours but was only a few minutes later, Morgan has finally calmed down and stopped crying, although she had not let go of Tony and was mumbling something to herself over and over. It was Nela who heard and understands her first.

“Am I a dream little sister? After all, if mom and dad are a dream, I must be one as well. But I bet you've never had a big sister that you could hug before and I bet you never even dreamed of having a big sister who can cry and laugh, tickle and hug, bleed and get matching broken bones. And I can do all those things. I am real, sister."

Within a few minutes of this comment, the combination of her crying fit, the emotional and physical exhaustion, and maybe knowing for the first time in weeks that she was truly safe, Morgan slipped into a restful sleep curled up warm and snug in her daddy's arms.

“From now on every time she has a nightmare you call me FRIDAY,” Tony whispered in a quiet voice. He wasn't as cold or angry as he was in the hallway but there was a firmness to his tone that booked no argument. Pepper recognized it from older times, it was a tone that Tony took when dealing with underlings, or anyone else when they're being particularly obtuse.

Trying to shift Morgan's weight to lay her back down in bed just caused her to whimper and curl up tighter in his arms. In fact, anytime the three adults tried to move, Morgan would make a sound of distress. With the shared look, all three of them decided to give in for the night and curl up together in Morgan’s bed. Thankfully, Tony had purchased her a Queen-sized bed that looked like it belonged in a princess’s fairy tale, so while it was a tight fit for the three adults, they did fit.

After a few moments of quiet, she whispered tp Tony.

“ What is with the smile on your face?”

“How could I not smile.” Tony quietly replied,

“I'm currently curled up in bed with 2 of my daughters. The 3rd one is currently watching over all of us unless I miss my guess is probably going to start playing some relaxing white noise to help us fall asleep.”

“But I’m not your daughter.” Came the broken whisper as Nela replied to Tony’s comment.

“Says who? Who says you're not my daughter? I know it's not me, it's not pepper, it's not Morgan Or FRIDAY. They see you As what my daughter, their sister. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise you point him out to me, I'll set them straight. I don't care if it's the board, a lawyer, a Reporter, or SHIELD, no one gets to say that you are not mine. Because you are. You're my baby girl just as much as Morgan is just as much as Friday is, you're mine to protect and love, you're mine in every little way that matters and in every little way that doesn't. It's funny I never wanted children because I was so scared of becoming my father. I was so scared of having a child and becoming an abusive alcoholic. That was the reason I never wanted to get married cause I never wanted a woman to look at me in fear. And yet curled up with my two children and a woman I hope one day be my wife I realize my fears were unfounded.”

This was said in a fierce whisper as Tony moved one of his arms from just around Morgan to wrap it around Nela as well. Drawing her tightly into his embrace as Pepper slid an arm around the three of them from his other side. Nela seemed to freeze for a moment as if unsure of how to accept parental affection before she abruptly melted into the care of their offering. With Friday putting on a relaxing piece of classical music the three adults quickly drifted off to sleep. That night no one in that room had a nightmare.

Nela Was the first one awake the following morning though not by much. She was quietly marveling in the feeling of safety and unconditional love when she happened to glance over at Pepper and realize she too was awake. With a few unspoken words, Pepper manages to ask what she should order for breakfast and then quietly got her phone and texted FRIDAY to do so thereby Prompting FRIDAY to waft the smell of coffee throughout the mansion waking the adults who actually went to sleep and calling the ones who didn’t to the dining room for breakfast.

BREAKFAST NEXT DAY

TONY'S POV

Carrying a laughing Morgan on his shoulders, he entered the dining hall along with Pepper and Nela. The last night's discussion had made him quite happy, and the feeling was still coursing inside him. Due to this, he failed to notice the nervous state of Bruce and Betty. It was Pepper's poking which finally made him pay attention to things around him.

While the immediate arrivals in the room looked normal, the ones already present were anything but. Bruce and Betty seemed to be vibrating in their seats while Virgil, Mordo, and Happy seemed to have an expression of awe on their face.

"There is something that I have seemed to miss. Mind filling me Brucie bear?" He ignored the snort from Betty but not one from Nela. "Hey, no making fun of your Dad. There is a rue on that somewhere, I am sure."

Happy’s tone was filled with confusion. "Tony, why are you making Dad jokes?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but Bruce didn't give him that opportunity. The scientist jumped from his seat, throwing a file towards him. "Tony, we created a cure for cancer."

He looked down at the thin file in front of him and back at Bruce. His pause was long enough that Bruce got an irritated expression on his face. "Say something, you bloody genius."

His mouth opened on reflex. "Umm, Nice."

Bruce stared at him for a long time before throwing his hands in the air and marching out, Betty tagging along with him. "FRIDAY, tell him. I am going to get a bloody drink."

He would deny till his dying breath that the next words out of his mouth had a girly tone to them. "FRIDAY?"

The dimension traveling A.I.'s voice was also filled with excitement and amusement. "We obtained some more blood samples after you left the infirmary, Mr. Stark. Dr. Banner asked me to simulate the effect of serum on the blood. The results were not satisfactory. The serum was unable to reduce or nullify the poison."

"But that's impossible. The serum is supposed to solve any issues inside the body."

"I know, Mr. Stark. But it was unable to do with Mr. Howlett's blood poisoning."

Bruce chose that moment to enter the room. "The only reason we can think is the metal that is the reason behind the poisoning. Adamantium, if I am not wrong. Is there any element by that name in this world, FRIDAY?"

"No, Dr. Banner. I did perform a check last night. No mention of it was found anywhere."

"hmm. Anyway, when the serum didn't work, we decided to use the extremis. It worked, but not as we expected. FRIDAY, could you bring up the simulation."

A newly installed screen in the hall lit up.

"The extremis, instead of removing the poison, dissolved inside the blood. A few minutes later, the poison separated itself from the blood."

Bruce was looking at him with an excited expression.

"FRIDAY had some vials of extremis stored. We used one of them on the blood. The same thing happened. Tony, I think extremis sort of kick-started something inside his blood, most likely what James here called as his healing factor. This factor removed the poison from the blood, as it must have been doing inside the body. I think that that's what his body needs. To kickstart the healing factor once more."

FRIDAY answered the unasked question.

"We theorized that his healing factor, due to healing all his injuries through his lifetime, and the constant fight with metal poisoning, started to wither. Because even with all his mutations, Mr. James Howlett is basically a human, just with some different genes. There is only a limit at which anything natural can function."

It took him some time to go through the file and process everything. Once done, he looked up at Bruce.

"Okay, I understand everything you said. But how does it connect to a cure for cancer."

Betty answered his question. "The Nanites, Tony. The extremis will remove the current poisoning, but it will not do anything to stop the continued metal leaking from his bones. In a few years, he will be right back to square one. The serum, on the other hand, can do that. FRIDAY successfully simulated a way to use the nanites to coat his bones with the serum. We think that the serum can be modified to hold back a large part of leaking metal. If we are successful in doing that, the nanites can be used in the same way to treat cancer cells. Maybe we could modify extremis to do so. The cure would treat so many people..."

"No" Pepper's strong tone stopped everyone in their tracks.

"Pep..."

"No, Tony. Take a moment and think about it. You told me that nanites are difficult to make. And once a person has them how can they be removed? Can they even be removed? Or do they break down over time?. Think about how they could be used if the technology falls in the wrong hands. There is also the issue of Extremis. A.I.M is still developing it and we must look at that issue soon. If we go public with this then they can accuse us of corporate espionage. And from what FRIDAY has said while Maya might be willing to work with us there is no way that Killian would. So, then we must start looking at a hostile takeover of the company which will raise a lot of eyebrows unless we tell the world why and that will cause more problems. Not to mention the cost to treat people. You can’t only provide it solely to people who could pay the amount needed for treatment, it will bring a lot of negative PR. That is even if you can get to pass the trials that the F.D.A. would put it through and the potential for it to leak out due to said trials. The board will never allow SI to bear the negative PR. In fact, they might try to turn things back on you making you look like the bad guy just so that it does not affect the company as a whole. You may be able to offer it with your personal fortune, but it would bleed you dry in a few years. I don't think you want that, given that you have two daughters to care for now."

Bruce's next words had a lot of anger in them.

"Ms. Potts, You are telling me that money is more important than human lives. You..."

Pepper was now in full CEO mode as he liked to call it.

"Yes, I am telling you that, Dr. Banner. I care about the lives of people. But I care more about the people who work for me and the people I love. I will not let a greater good harm Tony, Morgan, or SI. I am not a benevolent philanthropist. I am the COO of the largest multinational company in the world. As a scientist, you are only looking at the cure for a deadly disease. As a Business leader, Girlfriend of CEO, and a mother, I am looking at the effect that cure will have over things I will care about. So, No, the cure will not be released in its current form."

Bruce refused to back down, staring angrily at Pepper. He saw the ever-present suit in the room moving forward as Betty tried to calm him down.

"You cannot stop this, Pepper. I will not..."

Pepper hand lifted in the air. 

“I know that, Dr. Banner. But I don't have to. You are forgetting that there is someone else who cares more about the Stark family and its things than the normal human population. And that someone has more than enough tools to stop you from releasing this information.

A deafening silence spread in the room as Pepper reminded everyone about the A.I.

Bruce visibly struggled for a moment before looking towards the projection.

"FRIDAY?"

FRIDAY took a moment to answer. "Ms. Potts is correct, Dr. Banner. The nanotech is not ready to be released in public. Extremis might never be known to the public in its current form until it becomes necessary in the future. We don't know what effect the use of modified extremis will have on common people. We may end up giving people superpowers. You see the side that says that there will be no more death due to cancer, while Ms. Potts sees the cost of offering this ‘cure’. I on the other hand see the side that says this is a slippery slope that could be end up with SI and Mr. Stark being blamed for making superhumans. You have seen the damage that careless use of powers can so. And while we could still create a setup to cure people, the cost would be too large to bear even for SI, let alone a single person. I cannot allow any inheritance for Morgan to be sacrificed for people who would never care for her."

It struck him for the first time, that FRIDAY above everything else was a selfish entity in a way. She only cared about her core protocol and the things she considered important. Anything else didn't matter to her at all. That revelation was terrifying.

Bruce's words brought him out of his musing.

"Tony, you are the CEO, her boyfriend..."

He raised his eyebrows at the obvious attempt at divide and conquer.

"Pepper is my Girlfriend, Dr. Banner. She is the woman who has managed my everything for me for years, the woman who can be considered as one of the most powerful people in the world, the woman who has kept SI stable through everything I have put it through, the woman I trust more than anyone else. You expect me to override her?"

His anger started showing as he pressed on. 

"Or are you suggesting that I override an A.I. who has made her sole mission to protect me and keep my daughter happy, just for a greater good? Are you forgetting what exactly I was known as once, Dr. Banner?"

He ignored the scientist as the man walked out of the room with a huff. Mordo too stood up from his seat.

"I will talk to the Doctor. He just needs to understand it from a different perspective."

Betty followed behind him but turned to look back. 

"I apologize for what he did, Ms. Potts. He has lived his life in books and research, he doesn't understand."

Pepper waved her off.

"That doesn't excuse the sexism he just showed, Ms. Ross. Either way I don't care, just tell him to not repeat it."

Once both of them left the room, he gave a flying kiss to Pepper. Ignoring the gagging sound made by Nela, he addressed the almighty A.I.

"FRIDAY, mind telling me more about the cure."

As he and Pepper tried to get Morgan to eat her fruits, FRIDAY explained more about the cure for Mr. Howlett to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments/suggestions/reviews are appreciated.


	45. Logan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan receives the cure. Something unwanted is brewing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, a long and major arc will start. This arc will cover four marvel movies, Thor the dark world, Ultron, IRON MAN 3, and Captain America winter soldier. Just a head up, I will change some timelines and age of some character.

**FRIDAY**  
  
Two days of nonstop lab sessions by Boss, Dr. Banner, and Ms. Ross, coupled with an intense workout of her servers, produced the modified versions of the Serum and Extremis that they wanted. Boss had also configured the nanoparticles with her and JARVIS's help to perform the coating.  
  
Since no one knew how Mr. Howlett's healing factor might react to the nanoparticles, it had been decided that the nanoparticles would be injected first, when the healing factor was at its weakest. Once the coating process was complete, Extremis would be injected in his bloodstream, which should dissolve in Mr. Howlett's blood and kick start it once again.  
  
FRIDAY had handed off the responsibility of helping Boss to coordinate the nanoparticles to DIANA. Nela's A.I. had been getting bored these days and had volunteered for it. Since the process would require a lot of attention, DIANA had been a perfect choice. Just as they were ready to begin the first step, JARVIS paused the entire process. Before FRIDAY could even enquire, JARVIS explained in a sort of sheepish voice.  
  
"Sir, in our rush to help Mr. Howlett, we have not taken the time to get the permission of only living relative of Mr. Howlett for this experimental procedure. I would strongly suggest talking to Ms. Howlett first before proceeding. You once chastised young FRIDAY for doing exactly what we are about to do to Mr. Howlett. However good our intentions we should get permission."  
  
FRIDAY thought on his inter-dimensional brother's word. She remembered how Boss had asked to not do anything to him without informing about what and why. And JARVIS was right, here they were going to do the same thing to another person. A person who has already been experimented on and has had his agency taken from him once already. She stopped the rising debate in the lab.  
  
"JARVIS is right, Mr. Stark. Ms. Howlett must at least know that we are trying something. There is a 14% chance that something might go wrong in the process. If nothing else she has the right to know that what we are doing here just might kill her father. She has the right to say goodbye while there still is a chance that he can hear her. And if he can hear, there might be a chance that he responds better to the treatment knowing that someone needs him."  
  
Boss, who had been the one against informing Laura, agreed-upon hearing that, although not without arguing with her and JARVIS for more than 10 minutes. He and Ms. Ross proceeded towards the room Laura had been staying, while Dr. Banner went over the entire process once more. The tense feeling between them was not missed by FRIDAY.  
  
Laura had not left her room in two days. She had not reacted poorly upon after being notified about Mr. Howlett's condition, indicating that she already had an idea about it. But the signs were there for anybody who could them, signs that told she was spiraling towards depression. She was not sleeping well and was barely eating, she was also not interacting with Penny or Morgan and giving one-word responses or grunts when asked anything by an adult. As Boss walked towards the guest room, FRIDAY updated him about everyone in the 'group', as Boss liked to call it. Ms. Potts, Virgil, and Mr. Hogan were at the tower along with Ms. Romanova and Mr. Barton. Mr. Barton's wife and children had set up in their flat in one of the residential floors. Ms. Romanova's sister had also taken up one of the flats, with her brother scheduled to arrive in a month. Mordo was telling Morgan and Penny another of his stories while May Parker watched over them. Ben Parker was keeping an eye on Nela, who was trying something with her suit in the Mansion's garden.  
  
Just before they entered the room, Boss stopped and addressed her. "She is a child, FRIDAY. Do we need to…? I mean how much can we really tell her? How much should we tell her? Can and should we really burden her with this information?"  
  
"Yes, Mr. Stark. She might be a child, but she has suffered through a lot. It has been one of the most common observations in human history, that a person's wisdom depends upon their experiences, not their age." She replied in the poshest style she could create. In truth, I had told Morgan a general idea of what we were going to do and where we were hopefully going to end up. Yes, I kept it very age appropriate due to the fact she was 7 but I still kept her informed. If she had been Laura’s age, I probably would have told her everything."  
  
Boss shook his head with a small smile before entering the room. Laura was inside the room, reading one of the comics she had brought along with. What followed was an intense conversation, between a child and two adults, translated in English and Spanish every time Laura and Boss stopped speaking respectively. 

In the end, Laura had agreed with the scientists and gave the go-ahead for the procedure but demanded to both talk to her father before anything was done and that she was going to be in the lab the entire time. FRIDAY got the impression that if anything was done out of order or any extra steps were taken then she would NOT be happy. After a few more minutes of discussion, Boss agreed with her, only adding a condition that she would stay out of harm’s way no matter what happens.  
  
An hour later, they were ready for the process to start. FRIDAY ceded the control of nanoparticles to DIANA, granting her partial access to Boss's personal systems. She could feel the Nervousness in DIANA's coding as the A.I. started integrating itself. FRIDAY always thought that DIANA had been the most human-like A.I. out of all her siblings. And there was a valid reason behind it. Unlike Boss's A.I.'s, DIANA had not been developed as a learning A.I. She did grow and learn under someone's guidance, rather she had to learn everything on her own. According to Nela, DIANA was born both as an accident and in the middle of a war. She was originally supposed to be a weapon handling program. What she had grown to become now, was all due to the experience she had earned and used to develop further. Much like a child, she learned everything on her own and with a steep learning curve. Nela and her version of Mr. Stark Senior did not mean to create life, they just did. This did give DIANA an advantage, one which neither FRIDAY nor any other A.I. had. DIANA was able to relate with humanity in a much more fluent way than any of the others. She regularly pulled pranks on Nela and Boss, was the only one who spent at least an hour speaking to Morgan every day about nonsense things and playing games with her, and would usually solve any issue the other A.I.'s had with their charges. TADASHI would frequently take DIANA's help in managing the HR department. Although FRIDAY didn't know whether it was due to DIANA's proficiency or TADASHI's not wanting to deal with good for nothing, old coots.   
  
Few minutes after nanoparticles were injected into the body, an unexpected problem arose. Their theory that the healing factor would be too weak to deal with the nanoparticles, came out to be wrong. Nearly 30% of the particles were guided away from their target or being destroyed despite Boss and DIANA's best effort. With the supply of nanoparticles low, FRIDAY took immediate action. She dismantled one of the suits that she had brought along and informed both Boss and young Laura about it. That way the second injection didn’t raise any alarms with the young girl, who was already on the edge. 2 minutes later, the vibranium based nanoparticles entered Mr. Howlett's bloodstream.  
  
Things were moving smoothly from there until about halfway through when DIANA noticed something different. It seemed that unlike the Starkanium based nanoparticles, the Vibranium based ones were not being affected by the healing factor. They had not lost even one newly injected particle, but by this point, the original batch had been entirely flushed out of the bloodstream.  
  
Dr. Banner had the most likely theory. "Vibranium is a natural element, while Starkanium is not. There must be something in Vibranium which must be making his healing factor categorize it as not a threat. Maybe it's the composition or maybe..."  
  
She ignored the long tangent Dr. Banner went on, after all, if he said something important than one of her secondary processes or JARVIS would mention it to her, focusing, instead of on developing the idea on one of her always developing plans. After changing a few things on the suggestion of her siblings, the plan was initiated. Two nanotech suits disintegrated, their particles coating all three Mark 5 suits stationed outside the mansion. A moment later, the now camouflaged suits took off in a southeastern direction. Ulysses Klaue would never know that he lost his most expensive loot because of a small offhand observation made by a Dimension traveling A.I. during an experimental procedure. FRIDAY wondered about incapacitating the criminal and deliver him and his associates to the UN counter-terrorism unit, but then decided against it. She did leave a small hint about his location in such a manner that Wakanda might come across it.  
  
Once the coating process was complete, Boss moved over to sit near Laura wanting to offer some comfort to the young girl while Dr. Banner prepared the Extremis injection. Since there was a chance that extremis might react negatively to everything inside Mr. Howlett's blood, the lab was emptied and the group took shelter behind the bomb-resistant observation glass that lined one wall, with JARVIS coordinating the final injection step. Nothing seemed to happen for a few minutes once the extremis vial was empty. The confusion was evident amongst the three doctors. But just as Boss made to enter the lab, Mr. Howlett's body lurched almost as if he was having a seizure and a hoarse yell was pulled from his throat. The restraints on the bed groaned as Mr. Howlett proceeded to thrash in place for a long moment before stopping.  
  
JARVIS once again brought their attention to Mr. Howlett's body. It seemed that right in front of everyone's eye, the comatose body was getting de-aged. The wrinkles on his face were disappearing while his hair was losing the gray color. They could also see the redefinition of his muscles on a screen, as he was brought to full health but also as stored fat in his body was being used up rapidly. The changes went on for nearly 3 minutes before everything stopped. Boss immediately entered the room along with Dr. Banner, a suit following right behind them.  
  
Suddenly, Mr. Howlett broke one of the restraints with a jerk on his arm. But instead of attacking anyone, he turned to a side and vomited a large amount of silver liquid. Fortunately, Dr. Banner had placed a container on either side for such a possibility. Mr. Howlett kept on vomiting for a long time, longer than FRIDAY had expected him to. Once he had finally finished he popped one of his claws to cut himself free of the elastic restraints and lied back on the bed, which had risen to allow him to sit inclined instead of lying flat on his back lay on his back, his eyes took in everything around him. FRIDAY was not sure whether he remembered what had happened, so she prepped the suit to gather Boss inside if anything happened.  
  
Things changed when Mr. Howlett looked over his own body and caught a look at his reflection on the glass wall. His eyes focused then on Boss. 

“What the hell did you do?” He asked in a confused and gruff tone.  
  
“Cured you. What else?” Boss responded in an overly cheerful tone.  
  
"Fuc....."  
  
"Shhh, there is a child here, Logan." Boss stopped him, pointing towards Laura who was standing outside the lab. She was looking confused and worried and was almost vibrating in a place like she wanted to rush to his side. That seemed to calm Mr. Howlett down a little. Suddenly a single claw came out of his free arm with a snikt sound. He looked at it for a second confused before pointing it towards Boss.   
  
"Explain, Bub."  
  
Boss took a seat next to bed, not minding the threatening claw at all. He explained everything they had done to Logan's body in concise and simple terms. He also took the time to tell him that Laura was filled in on everything and she gave them the go-ahead to do what they did. Dr. Banner took over when he stopped.  
  
"This is not a permanent solution, Mr. Howlett. The serum coating your bones will not nullify the poison. It will just keep it at bay, letting only a minuscule amount leak in your bloodstream. Your healing factor should be able to handle that amount easily. But if you ever are injected with Anti-serum, you will die in a short time. The time, which may depend upon how much time has passed since the coating, will be extremely painful for you, as all the held over metal will leak in your blood immediately. 1 year from now, you will die in less than 2 months. 5 years, in less than a month. Anything above 9 years, you will die in less than a week. 20 years from now, your survival will be a matter of hours or maybe possibly minutes. I would also advise you to avoid injuries that might let your bones face common air. The modified version of serum does not react well with it. If and until we can remove the metal on your bones, this will be a stopgap measure, not a true fix."

Dr. Banner hesitated for a moment before continuing.

"Honestly, I don’t know if we can remove what was done to you, Mr. Howlett."  
  
Logan was silent for a few minutes as his arm went down. He spoke softly after a few minutes.  
  
"Laura?"  
  
"That's why it is not a permanent solution. We are still looking into it. I do have some good news about Laura. I can tell you is that we did a full exam on her, with her permission and my girlfriend present to hit me if Laura asked. While her claws have been coated, none of her other bones inside her body have. This could be due to the fact that they didn’t want to worry about her growth, or they didn’t have enough metal to do the rest. We just need to find a method to stop the metal leaking from those claws into the tissue around them." Boss replied in a serious tone.  
  
Logan was silent for a few more minutes before he spoke.

"Why am I so young? You said the cure was only supposed to restart my healing factor."  
  
Boss shrugged.

"We have no idea. Extremis might be the reason, as it has already done so in Morgan's case. But in her case, it was coupled with Quantum energy. I can only say that your healing factor might be responsible for your current condition. Our best guess is that extremis combined with the healing factor for a fountain of youth effect. It essentially instead of just healing you, also took you right back to your prime."  
  
The rest of the day went along nicely, with Boss and Dr. Banner performing multiple tests on Logan with his permission. FRIDAY had taken over the command of nanoparticles once again and moved them to a decontamination chamber. In cleaning them from the vomit sludge that came from Mr. Howlett’s system, she was able to discover that a lot of what came out was a metal, which was quite close to the Vibranium in the element table, more close than Starkanium even. The rest was copper and iron. Nothing was toxic on its own, but it was not good for a human body. The cleaned suit was reformed an hour later. Logan also had a long conversation with Laura, helped by FRIDAY in translating once again. Boss had already told Logan that they needed to discuss more about Laura later during the dinner.  
  
Most of the group had arrived at the mansion that night, at Boss's request. Logan had told them all a little more about his world and his powers. It was decided that since Laura was only a few months older than Penny, she would join her in the next academic session at the same school. Tony would make sure of it. In the meantime, she would learn more about the English language along with the other things little things to help her not stand out. Ms. Romanova had taken up the responsibility to teach and train Laura along with Logan. The only question Boss had was if Mr. Howlett wanted to meet his ‘family’ in this dimension. And if so what would he like the story to be. Mr. Howlett told them that he would have to think about that for a time.  
  
**THIRD PERSON'S POV**  
  
While the Starks and their friends were enjoying their dinner, none of them had any idea about the sinister plot brewing against some of them. HYDRA had managed to track down the source of social media accounts which had outed SHIELD and was threatening them indirectly.  
  
Since they didn't know it was an A.I. who was handling the account, their guess had brought them down to a newly formed Research department. An inside source had informed them about the monthly meeting date of the entire department with Tony Stark.  
  
A deadly plan was already in motion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So comment what you think about this.


	46. Blood all around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Butterfly effect ensues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, Feeney here. Just wanted to say this is not a new chap from yesterday I just went through and cleaned it up a little and added one or two things. There are NO major changes between this and the original so if you dont want to reread you don't have to.

** TONY STARK **

The day had started as it would usually, with Morgan running into their room to wake them up, after which she was off towards Nela's room. By the time Pepper and he would enter the dining room, the little girl would have dragged a grumbling Nela and Virgil to the table. After breakfast and a discussion among them, Friday and other AIs, and anyone else that had stayed at night before, they would leave for their work. It usually meant SI for Pepper and Virgil, the lab for him, Bruce and Betty, and Nela, Morgan, and Laura towards their homeschooling classes accompanied by Logan and Ben Parker, who would arrive by that time. The first divergence occurred when Pepper asked him to accompany her to a recently formed Research Department meeting since the department was his brainchild, filled with people who would either invent or find something new or be at the cusp of it in an unforeseeable future, Pepper wanted him to be connected to it in some way. Since the average age of the group was below 25, he invited Nela to accompany them too. Morgan also tagged along with them, always ready to run away from her classes.

Ben Parker escorted them; they were driven to the tower, which looked unusually busy this morning. An inquiry at the reception told him that the building was facing some power issues. He immediately checked with Jarvis and Tadashi, both of whom confirmed that the problem was with the wirings rather than the arc reactor. With the meeting scheduled to start in less than 5 minutes, he sent Ben to check up on the repair teams and headed to the meeting room, now accompanied by his old friend Happy. Taking a seat at the head of the table, he looked at the large group of young adults staring at him with awe and nervousness and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Relax, guys, you have already cleared the selection process—no need to be nervous now. Everyone sitting at the table is a talented person with a powerful mind. Since I am supposed to manage this department personally, let's start with introductions. I'll go first. My name is Tony Stark, Genius, Philanthropher, Iron Man. I can't live without coffee. I'll do the next one too. Her name is Morgan Stark, my daughter and bane of my sleep. She will kill you for pancakes." With that, the introduction started Nela going next, followed by Pepper, who also did Virgil's, then the new employees began with their introduction. He relaxed in his seat, not knowing that in a few minutes, his life would change, and not for the better.

The first explosion happened at the far side of the room, powerful enough to throw him from his seat. Muscle memory worked overtime to the right him, as his eyes fell on his family, only to see one of his longest-running nightmares. Something had connected with Pepper, throwing her and Morgan down to the floor. While his daughter was on her side, with no visible injuries and nanotech armor slowly crawling over her skin, his girlfriend lay still on her back. Pepper was unconscious, covered in dust and debris, a weeping cut to her temple and hairline. He was still frozen in shock when the right side of her blouse turned red. Two more explosions went off, throwing more debris around him as he pushed through the indecision in his thoughts and crawled towards Pepper. He noticed that his face was numb, and he couldn't see with one eye, but that mattered little to him. Checking Pepper's pulse, a wave of relief went through him. She was still breathing. She was still alive. She hadn't left him or their girls. Looking around, all he could see was smoke and dust. Cries of help and pain sounded from every direction, as did the screams. Though they sounded like they came from far away and were muffled, he could barely hear them. Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulder and wrenching him around and making him flinch back. His hands came up like he was going to shoot his palm repulsor when he realizes who it is. The familiar face of Nela, even though it was coated with blood, relaxed him a little more. He wanted to tell her to take Pepper and Morgan away, but his mouth hurts to open, and he can't hear himself make a sound. Then, a movement behind her caught his attention. What he saw froze everything inside him. 

The photo that FRIDAY had shown them of the Winter Soldier did not do justice to the real thing. Unlike the grainy image, where he looked like a fantasy killer, almost unreal, the real Winter Soldier was terrifying even for him. Especially, when he was raising a gun straight at Nela's head. Something inside Tony roared with anger at the sight, and his body moved without a thought. Grabbing a confused Nela with both arms, he flipped her around him, effectively using his body as cover. The shot sounded a second later, but instead of a bullet, a large mass hit and sprawled over him. He recognized the cologne Happy had been using for a long time but had not expected the sharp tang of iron mixed in. With Happy's weight pinning him and a concussion making it hard to focus, he could do nothing as Nela looked frozen in horror at something just past his and Happy's backs. He prayed for help from any deity out there, to stop the next shot and save his family because right now, all of them were sitting ducks. His prayers were answered in the next moment.

The deity that responded was not an ancient or even a religious one, but an artificial one created by either him or his alternate self. The sound of roaring repulsors was probably the sweetest sound that he had heard in his entire life. A mark five suit flew over them, crashing hard against what he assumed was the Winter Soldier. And a moment later, another suit landed next to them and lifted Happy from where he was physically protecting them. He checked up on his family once again before turning around. The order to take Pepper and Morgan away was on the tip of his tongue when his eyes fell on Happy's body. The sight of blood covering one of his oldest friends and the uncertainty of his condition proved to be too much. Blackness engulfed his senses as he succumbed to his injuries. The last thing he heard was Nela screaming.

** FRIDAY. **

The moment she detected a rapid increase of temperature in the room where Morgan was, her entire self went into hyperactive mode. Servers were freed up, her siblings were alerted, and a connection to every suit near to Morgan was initiated. By the time the blast wave hit Boss, Boss Lady, and Morgan, the spare mark five suits in the Penthouse had formed up and were flying downwards from the balcony, the rescue suit joining them midway. She also alerted the Manor's occupants, locking it down and pulling away six of the seven suits present. Another two smaller explosions happened in the room, blinding her of all audio and visual inputs. Tadashi started locking down the tower at her command, while EDITH and DIANA dispatched their owner's suits. Colonel Rhodes, who had been flying in a training exercise nearby, protested only long enough to hear that Boss was under attack. Then, he disobeyed direct orders from his commanding officer and sped towards the Stark Tower. 

Something was interrupting her signal to Morgan's armor as it deployed slowly, but she was done playing nice and brute-forced her way through, the system finally activating as it should. Just as one of the mark five broke through the meeting room window, she saw the Winter Soldier shoot Mr. Hogan, in his torso as he placed his body between the danger and the Stark family. The bodyguard's crumpled backward, falling unconscious from the bullet's impact, hitting Boss and covering them up. Instead of using the suit's weapons, she directed one to hit the assassin with all the speed it could muster, hoping to throw it far enough. The tactic worked, but the metal arm's impact jarred something inside the suit's visual display rendering it sightless. She then directed the second suit, that had been helping Boss and others advance on the downed assassin, while the Rescue suit took its place. She had just pulled the unconscious form of Boss to a side when an alert from the mark five came in. The assassin had recovered and was beating the suit down. Nela had seen it too because she shook her head and moved in front of the rescue suit.

"Friday, open up." the young woman commanded. Anger and fear leaching into Nela's voice.

She immediately computed what Nela was going to try to do and came to an answer a few milliseconds later. Nela build was close enough to Boss Lady to pilot the rescue suit. And letting Nela pilot would allow her to focus instead on the others. So she opened the suit for the elder Stark daughter and passed its controls to DIANA, who was more efficient with Nela in a fight. Virgil, who had a gun and stun baton in his hands, stepped up next to the suit. He leaned slightly on his right leg showing an injury to his left but more than willing to stand at Nela's side. Both of them advancing at the assassin as one. 

Leaving the two-dimension travelers to deal with the Winter Soldier, she focused on her attention on other people inside the room. The smoke that had engulfed the room was leaking out from the broken window, clearing up the sight. She scanned the room for wounded or alive people but did not find any. The side of the room where employees were sitting had been obliterated, dismembered bodies lying all around. A wall separating the hall from the corridor had fallen inside, probably over the people sitting there and keeping them alive. But there was nothing she could do for them right now. One hundred forty-three seconds later, Colonel Rhodes's suit entered from the broken window. Since EDITH was commanding the suit, it turned straight towards the Winter Soldier after looking around the room. The battered forms of mark five and Virgil stepped back, leaving the War Machine and Rescue armor to deal with the assassin. FRIDAY. Virgil checked up on the Starks while she was finally able to direct the mark five to open up the room's blocked doorway. When the large piece of rubble was removed, several people rushed inside. The person at the front was who FRIDAY needed right now. She connected to his earbuds immediately.

"Mr. Parker, please evacuate Boss, Boss lady, Morgan, and Mr. Hogan immediately. All three adults are wounded. Boss Lady and Mr. Hogan were shot, while Boss had multiple shrapnel wounds."

Ben Parker did not ask any question to his credit, directing the guards entering the room to evacuate the four FRIDAY had mentioned. By the time they did it, Colonel Rhodes had managed to subdue the assassin by firing a low powered explosive round straight at the metal arm. The Winter Soldier was flung off, hitting the wall behind him again, but did not move this time. The blast, while not affecting the heavy Warmachine suit much, hit the damaged Rescue suit hard. It fell down, disabled and unmoving. Fortunately, Nela, who exited it a moment later, did not look too harmed. FRIDAY directed the mark five suit to move to the infirmary with the SI security taking over the situation's command. 

She also pinged May Parker, who was staying on one of the floors above, as the doctors and nurses in the tower infirmary were unknown to her. Penny's aunt responded immediately, answering that she was moving towards the infirmary. Then, she checked upon Morgan. Her sister was crying heavily inside the closed armor and did not look like she had been harmed in any physical way. FRIDAY wanted to get her away from the tower, but there was no one who she could leave Morgan with. Logan was still a stranger, and FRIDAY didn't trust him enough, not so soon after an attack. With Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross with Logan, there was only one option that could guarantee Morgan's safety. A call went out to Ms. Romanova's and Mr. Barton's cell phones simultaneously. The two agents, who were enjoying some time off with Mr. Barton's family at his new farm near the city, responded as she had hoped. Four of the six nanite suits diverted midway from their journey to the tower while Ben Park entered the Mark five suit at her command. Informing Colonel Rhodes of her decision and leaving him in control of the situation, she attached the Mark five suit to Morgan's armor and lifted off towards Barton's farm.

It took the damaged suit fourteen minutes to reach the farm, where Ms. Romanova and Mr. Barton me it outside the house. While Ms. Romanova took a sniffling Morgan in her arms and Ben Parker explained them everything, she directed the incoming nanite suits. Three of them were placed around the house, while one broke down and slipped inside the house, storing all the nanites under the dining table. 

Back at the tower, May Parker was done with the essential diagnosis of Boss, Boss lady, Nela, Mr. Hogan, and Virgil. While Nela and Virgil had only superficial wounds, Boss, Boss Lady, and Mr. Hogan's injuries were quite severe. Boss had suffered a blow to the head, while a bullet had passed clean through Boss Lady's shoulder. Mr. Hogan had also sustained a bullet wound, but it had not exited his body. All three of them were being shifted to a hospital by ambulance. She alerted Dr. Banner and Ms. Ross about it, and soon both of them were on the way to the Hospital. 

On Colonel Rhodes's request, the Warmachine armor engulfed the unconscious Winter Soldier, taking it away to a cell in the Manor, designed to restrain a super-soldier. Since neither of them wanted to leave him at a place where HYDRA might be able to reach, all government holding sites were discarded as an option. She asked JARVIS, Virgil, and TADASHI to ensure that none of the guards or other employees who saw the assassin, speak to anyone about it. Thankfully he lived up to his ghost reputation, so only the rescue team had seen the assassin before FRIDAY, and EDITH had him underway.

While her knee jerk reaction was to destroy HYDRA, and due to its nature, most of the SHIELD, FRIDAY, held off. Knowing she would need to justify any response to the incident, she needed more knowledge. While it was somewhat frustrating to have to explain her actions, she also understood the need for it. She understood why her freedom scared Boss when she started to really look into what she couldn't do at this time and quickly realized that there was nothing. She decided to set her own limits and lines, and one of them was explaining why she was doing something. It meant that sometimes she couldn't act on information right away, but it made things smoother between her and both Boss and Boss Lady. She started collecting information while waiting for the ambulance's arrival at the Hospital. After all, someone would pay for this. She just had to make sure it was the right people she burned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do comment what you think about this.


	47. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FRIDAY deals with the aftermath of the attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See the end for notes.

FRIDAY  
  
It had taken her less than three hours to find out about everyone responsible for the attack. Her investigation had started from the point of how the Winter Soldier entered the Tower and went on from there. The culprits had covered their tracks well, but none of them stood intact with her on the hunt. While learning that an employee to S.I. had granted the Winter soldier the entrance had been jarring, realizing there was an entire group of Hydra agents inside the company was nothing less than shocking. She had no idea how they had escaped her and Tadashi's checks, and that was more important than anything else.  
  
  
It meant that there somethings that she had missed in her old dimension, something which could wreck her plans at any moment. Handling the job to JARVIS to determine why had they not been detected earlier, she continued on the trail, uncovering more names. The chain had ended right on the top of the organization with Senator Pierce, who had ordered the attack himself. Observing the camera footage in the Senator's private servers, it became clear that Hydra had moved Boss from recruitment to dangerous list. With everything Boss and her had been doing against S.I., Hydra had decided to end Boss and the possible employee leaking data against SHIELD at the same time. The Winter Soldier, who was ordered to kill Boss, Morgan, and Nela, had been chosen just as an irony, to end another two Stark generations.  
  
  
The attack had been performed by including a chain of Hydra's dormant sleeper cells, some of which she had no information about. For example, no one could have guessed that the old couple who had been running a breakfast cart in the front street long before the plans of Stark Tower was even made were once active agents of Hydra. The finding had made her revaluate each plan once again, adding multiple variables and changing them accordingly.  
  
  
She had considered the dedication humans could show to their cause, but the limit had been under-considered. It was not going to happen again, not under her watch. The backdoors she had created and left alone in Hydra and SHIELD systems were accessed once again. Sharing access with JARVIS, she started finding out the location, weakness, and other information about the people involved in the attack. Meanwhile, JARVIS got the job to look for a very particular list of SHIELD agents and perform a full background check on them. During all this, she kept observing Morgan and those in the Hospital.  
  
  
By the next morning, the situation had become a lot clearer. While the FBI had taken over the Tower's investigation, there had been no mention of the Winter Soldier. SHIELD agents had infiltrated the FBI task force and were regularly trying to get access to hack in the S.I. systems. TADASHI was having a fun time denying them everything and destroying every bit of hardware they used.  
  
Morgan had kept waking up during the night and had been continuously enquiring about Boss and Boss Lady. Nela wound up having to leave for the farm in the end when Morgan refused to settle down. The final diagnosis of those admitted was also in. Boss only had a slight concussion and some bruises, while Boss Lady had the wound from bullet and blood loss issue. Mr. Hogan was still in intensive care, having suffered the worst injuries. The Doctors were not sure that he would ever be able to see or walk again, as the bullets had passed through some significant nerves before striking his spinal cord.  
  
Both Boss and Boss Lady were headed to the mansion. Boss had wanted Boss Lady to stay back but had agreed not to fuss when she left as she decided to stay in the infirmary at the mansion. He had also wanted to stay there for Mr. Hogan but had been convinced to leave after talking to Boss Lady. Mordo, who had directly gone to the Barton far after receiving her message, would be bringing Morgan, Nela, and Ben Parker back once Boss arrived.  
  
  
An hour later, when everyone had arrived in the infirmary, the situation was quite tense. Enough that Logan had tried to get Laura to go to her room. She refused on the grounds that her friend Morgan was still there. As Boss and Boss lady were consoling Morgan, Ms. Romanoff addressed her.  
  
"What did you find, FRIDAY?"  
  
She was not sure whether to answer in front of Mr. and Mrs. Parker. JARVIS, sensing her reason for hesitancy, ensured that he had already informed them about the seriousness of everything they might hear and had taken steps to ensure nothing untoward happens.  
  
"Four days ago, a Hydra agent of New York division guessed that the leaks for the EmployeeofSI social media accounts were originating from someone of the newly formed Research team. In a meeting of the Heads, it was concluded that the whole team had to be taken out in what looked like an accident. When they later learned that Mr. Stark and Ms. Potts would be meeting the team yesterday morning…"  
  
"Wait a sec, FRIDAY. The meeting was not planned till yesterday early morning. I was the one who scheduled it; how did they know?" Boss lady interrupted her.  
  
She decided to give the truth bluntly, despite knowing how much it would hurt Boss and Boss lady. "I have uncovered a few HYDRA agents employed in S.I. These are most likely sleeper cells, never heard about before, even in my old dimension. They are spread in nearly every department, and all have roles that allow them access to sensitive information. This, unfortunately, includes a member of your secretary team, Ms. Potts, and your personal legal team, Mr. Stark."  
  
This time Boss interrupted her; his eyes fixed straight on her projection. "Who?" He growled out in a stern voice.   
  
FRIDAY didn't want to answer, knowing what Boss's reaction would be, but she gave a half-truth when Boss asked again. "I am still forming a list, Mr. Stark. Background checks are being done, and I will have an answer for you by the day's end."  
  
Nobody looked like they believed her, but she didn't explain more, and they didn't call her out on the lie.

"The report I have located says that The Winter Soldier was only supposed to be used as a last resort. I don't know why he attacked when he did, but it was not in Hydra's plans. They are right now looking for the assassin, thinking that he went AWOL after failing. They are unsure if his programming failed of if he is looking for another way to complete his orders. Hydra has no idea that he is with us."  
  
After a moment of silence, Boss lady spoke up in a soft voice. "Did anyone else survive, FRIDAY?"  
  
"No. Ms. Potts. The first explosion and its aftereffects had killed all the members of the research team."  
  
"I killed them. I told them to assemble..." Everyone left a mumbling Boss lady alone with Boss, who had taken her in his arms and was whispering that it wasn't her fault. Ms. Romanoff addressed her again when she was out of the room.  
  
"What are you going to do about them, FRIDAY?"  
  
She connected straight to the Black Widow's earpiece. "I am getting in contact with some agents of your old organization, Ms. Romanoff. They helped young miss and me when we were leaving our old dimension. The details on who will be on your phone soon. I think that it's time that Hydra burns, don't you? You can join the team if you want?"  
  
The spy nodded after a moment of consideration. "Clint too. Morgan is his daughter's friend, and he hates people that target kids."  
  
FRIDAY didn't respond, not having any issue with it.  
  
When JARVIS provided her with information about the location and background check on the agents, she started the process of contacting them. Out of the 19 agents, 16 were in the states, with the other three in Europe. After giving it much consideration, she decided to use SHIELD infrastructure to gather them in one place. It would create a little drama inside the SHIELD, which was always welcome, and also give her the chance to steal away some brand-new SHIELD tech, which they had stolen from S.I.  
  
The emergency evacuation code reached the unsuspecting agents from SHIELD channels, and at the same time, she closed their beacons, location, and communication systems. It would take some time for their supervisors to notice that they were missing, but by then, it would be too late to do anything about it. Directing all of them towards one of the abandoned warehouses outside New York, one which she had acquired to be used as their base, she started her other preparations. HYDRA had fired the first shots in a direct war against her, scoring blood without knowing it. Now, it was her chance to make a move, and she would make them regret being born.  
  
The first thing she targeted was the finances of the organization. All the money in the emergency accounts of HYDRA was drained and dispersed. With glee and a bit of irony, she donated millions to Jewish memorial groups and antifascist organizations. Millions more ended up in groups like Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International. Nobody knew about the money except for a select few as it was only to be accessed if their primary source, i.e., SHIELD, was having problems.  
  
Once the money was taken care of, she started going after the personal life of the Hydra heads. Lies were exposed to families; artificial debts were created, infidelity was discovered, due dates were missed, important paperwork was deleted, minor legal problems were arranged, things of that nature. But she was careful only to target the agents, after all, collateral damage is both messy and often dangerous. Once all the nine heads of HYDRA were busy with their personal lives, she started doing the same to Secretary Pierce and the STRIKE team members. Not even their private vehicles were spared, the smart vehicles had all their systems fried, and the few simple, mostly classic ones had mostly something fall upon them. She had to stop herself from going too far on the same day, as the plan was to prolong their suffering.  
  
Breakfast the next day was a little tense. Morgan had barely left Boss Lady's side but seemed not to be affected much from the previous day. The rest of the people looked tired from the harrowing events and information dump they had been through. Once the plates were cleared, Mordo was kind enough to open a portal to the Barton farm. Boss Lady was headed there, accompanied by Morgan, Nela, Ms. Ross, Dr. Banner, the Howletts, and the Parkers. The trip had been planned at Morgan's insistence so all could meet her new friend, Mr. Barton's daughter, Lila. Boss had advised to use it as a break for one day, which everyone had agreed to. When they had left, Boss kept on staring at the car till it was out of the gates and then addressed her.

"Have all the agents arrived?"  
  
She had informed Boss and Boss Lady about her plans last night, and after a little modification, they had agreed to let it proceed.  
  
"Yes, Mr. Stark. The last three arrived 3 hours ago and have been waiting for further instruction with all others."  
  
TONY STARK  
  
He had barely slept as he thought for nearly the entire night about FRIDAY's plan. Despite the tag 'Merchant of Death' that was associated with his name, he wasn't a murderer. He was never involved in killing someone personally bu planning beforehand. After he became Iron Man, his actions had been one of ending terrorism in general, not target select individuals. And yes, this had lead to the death of some, but he was not methodically planning their deaths, it just happened. But now, that was precisely what he was going to do, and no matter how much he justified it, his mind kept calling it murder. And after a night of thinking, he was okay with it. These people had gone after the people he loved, harming the only woman he might have loved except his mother and daughters, and seriously injured one of his closest friends. Yes, he was okay with it.  
  
"J, bring the suit up."  
  
A few seconds later, a new design of iron man suit wrapped around him, one which he had designed for quick wrap around and travel. Lacking any armor or weapons, it was fast, agile, and stealthy. He had added the nanotech reserve at FRIDAY's insistence for any emergency case. After checking the status of his family, he blasted off towards the warehouse the agents were in. According to JARVIS, the new suit lived up to his expectation, covering the journey in 8 minutes rather than 14 minutes his other suits would have taken. Stepping inside the warehouse, he was greeted by 19 confused people. Seeing him, they immediately fell into a sort of formation, with the elders right at the front. The only agent with grey hair spoke up.

"Mr. Stark...."

He waved the agent off, exiting his suit and stand on the side. The agents' confused expression changed when the nanites flowed from his suit reserve to form a projector. A second later, FRIDAY's familiar form was visible to all of them.

"Good Morning, Everyone. My name is FRIDAY. I am an A.I., just like JARVIS, who I am sure you have heard about in SHIELD."

The agents were looking at him for an explanation, but he kept his silence. FRIDAY continued on.

"Please take your seats. I have something to show all of you, which you would find interesting. I assure you, this is not something that is harmful to you."

All the agents were now looking at the eldest man, who nodded after a second, taking his seat. Without any further words, FRIDAY started the video. This version was heavily edited, with FRIDAY providing a live commentary. Credit to their training, none of the agents reacted much during the first half of the video. During the second half, more than a few curses flew when SHIELD files were dumped online. FRIDAY had included the recordings to the Iron Legions, which had rescued these agents and others. The last part of the video played without any interruption. None of the agents reacted much on seeing their alternate selfs' messages, nor when they sacrificed themselves. Romanoff's death earned a few more exclamations, but that was it. After the video ended, a silence spread in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay. My sister's wedding is coming up soon, and here in India it is a very lengthy and energy consuming process, esp. for Bride's brother. With me being constantly on move, it was difficult to write even a single chapter. Even this chapter is not checked for errors as much as others are. I did what I could.
> 
> Thank you for being with the story, and keep reading. :D


	48. Meet and Greet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The situation with the agents become clear. FRIDAY gives Virgil a new responsibility.

** TONY STARK **

The eldest Agent broke the silence that had spread throughout the room.

"What do you expect from us, Ms… um… Friday?"

FRIDAY's hologram appeared once again. 

"Call me FRIDAY, Agent Matthew. Your colleagues told me that you all would help me in case I needed it. The attack that happened at Stark Tower..."

"Was done by SHIELD," a female agent spoke up. She explained further when everyone looked at her questioningly. "I had heard from one of my friends that some type of operation was planned in New York on the same date as the attack."

"You are partially correct, Ms. Lauren. SHIELD agents were the ones who attacked, but they owed their loyalty to HYDRA first, and your ex-employer second." FRIDAY's words brought another silence in the room, with nearly every Agent tensing in their seats.

"What do you mean by ex-employers, FRIDAY?" One of them asked quietly.

"It means that you all won't be going back to work for SHIELD, no matter if you agree to help me or not. Most of you were on the elimination list of HYDRA simply because you were not a part of it. Soon, your absence will be noticed, along with the list of missing equipment. I regret to inform you that none of you will be allowed to get in touch with SHIELD again. If you decide not to help us, you would be offered an S.I. job that would keep you away from SHIELD and monitored continuously. Any attempt to leak or share the information you just learned would invite severe retribution."

After a minute, the Agent turned to look at him.

"That is not very fair, Mr. Stark." 

There was something in his voice that was hard to register. It wasn't anger per se, but there was something. He shrugged, having already come to terms with what FRIDAY was prepared to do. "I know, Agent Matthew, but you all would have died sooner or later if not for FRIDAY's intervention. If you still choose not to help, I can assure you that you all would have well-paying and comfortable jobs. Your colleagues' actions in assisting with my daughter's escape have earned you that much. I am sure your job has taught you that life is never as fair as people think it ought to be."

It took them another few hours of negotiation, but he had a personal strike force by the end of the day. The agents were given information about the targets they would be going after. Any reservations the agents might have had disappeared once FRIDAY presented them with both the proofs they would need and the reason that the said target was a target. The suits FRIDAY had designed for each of them was enough to make a few of them swoon. After that came out the roster of planes, guns, and much more, and he had JARVIS buy a newly built residential apartment nearby. On impulse, he also invited them for a barbeque night at the mansion. As he was flying towards the Barton farm, JARVIS sent the message out to all others too.

As the evening turned into night, the garden of the mansion slowly filled with people. While Pepper was resting on one of the couches, talking to Natasha's sister, Morgan was busy babbling something to Agent Matthew. Natasha, Clint, and one of the agents were busy arguing over something with Nela, Penny, Laura, and Lila Barton trying to cook smores behind them. Happy's absence was a sore point for him, but there was nothing he could do with his bodyguard-cum-friend in a medical coma. His eyes caught Bruce trying to get away from the party, but Ross seemed to hold on to him tightly as she discussed something with May Parker. Since the day of the dispute between them, Bruce had been avoiding him and Pepper as much as he could. JARVIS had told him it was because Bruce was ashamed of his anger, but he thought it was more likely due to the rejection of his idea.

Scientists like him were always a weird bunch, not agreeing with the real-world problems that came with the solutions they found in an enclosed lab. Laura and Logan were also present but mostly kept to themselves. As the night drew to a close, people started retiring. When only those who knew about FRIDAY's plans were left, he called all of them together. Clint and Natasha had asked to join the agents in the plan, as they would also be keeping SHIELD and, in turn, HYDRA off them. Targets had already been divided and set, with the first attack scheduled in 5 days. He had asked FRIDAY to provide three of her suits for any emergencies. With the final confirmation, the agents walked off to meet Pepper, who had already decided upon a job for each of them. Once they were off, he turned to face Natasha.

"How is he?" 

Although he did not add a name, they both knew who the 'he' Tony was referring to.

"Silent. Has tried to break out twice." 

Nat was the only one with any experience with the Soldier, so she was one of the prominent people overseeing him.

He nodded, having expected that. While a large part of his mind was begging to end the man who had killed his parents and hospitalized his best friend, a smaller portion was arguing against it. After scouring through HYDRA's systems and seeing everything about the Winter Soldier himself, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for that man. He had fought every step of the way he had come through, but not to become what he so desperately wanted to be right now.

An impressive chamber to treat Barnes had already been prepared, and the process was scheduled to start the next day. May Parker had been informed about the Winter Soldier, after which, she had agreed to join in with Bruce and Dr. Ross in treating him. Between the three of them, the science of his biochemistry and his physical health was covered. Now, if only they could find a therapist to trust so that they could cover his mental health as well. There was a discussion about telling Steve Rogers about the Winter Soldier, but FRIDAY had immediately cut down that suggestion. She had made it clear that Rogers would not be able to make a rational decision in the case of Bucky Barnes. She had even chastised Bruce, Betty, and him for even thinking about it, given what they had seen in her videos. Logan had also been roped in, although mostly for keeping an eye on the Soldier.

The mutant had shared more stories of his older dimension and the things that had happened with Laura. The little girl's education had been taken over by Nela and Virgil, as both of them were fluent in Spanish. Romanoff would join them sometimes, mostly during the physical training phase. Seeing the kids had made him remember the other two children that FRIDAY had told him about previously. Penny Parker, who may turn into a spiderperson someday, was already quite close to him. He had spent a lot of time with her in the labs, designing or improving things that should not be possible for a small child like her. The girl was a total chatterbox like him, changing topics at a rapid rate. The last time she and Nela had gotten into an argument about a cartoon, everyone present in the room had tears in their eyes from laughing.

The other child, Harley Keener, was much smarter than Tony had expected. Having JARVIS look into Harley, he had found out quite a lot about the Keeners. Their financial situation aside, the family records didn't have any red flags. Harley had already been admitted to advanced courses in his school and applied for Stark scholarships offered to young students by the Maria Stark Foundation every year. That had given him an idea to meet Harley, but it was yet to be cleared by Pepper. She had sat patiently while he had explained his idea, which, in hindsight, was more of an arm-waving hyper babbling than a simple explanation.

Natasha's teasing voice brought him out of his musings. "What's got your mind working overtime? You just blanked out?"

He shook his head. "No, just thinking about something. Please make sure he is unable to escape or harm anyone. I know it would not be his fault, but I don't know if I can stay my hand a second time."

With that, he turned around and started walking towards Morgan, who was now drooling on Nela's shoulder as she slept. He scooped Morgan up and ( headed to her room inside. As they walked back inside the mansion, he addressed FRIDAY.

"FRIDAY, done with checking all the employees?"

The A.I. answered immediately. "No, Mr. Stark. TADASHI and I are done with the S.I. employees on the mainland and South America. The employees of the E.U. are being checked out right now."

"And what's the casualty rate?"

"As of now, out of 400,000 employees checked, we have found 900 that are working for intelligence agencies. They are mostly concentrated in the engineering, sales, human resources, and logistics departments. It seems that the United States government does not trust you much, Mr. Stark. Some employees are being paid to pass on information to the CIA, FBI, and the armed forces intelligence. TADASHI is maintaining the regularly updated list, which is accessible only by Ms. Potts and you."

"Hmm, what about Natasha's brother?"

"Mr. Romanoff's history had been checked thoroughly, Mr. Stark. Apart from bending a few rules searching for his sister, he has refrained from breaking any laws. There are some very tricky financial maneuvers done by him and his friend a few years ago, but since it was to create a tax-free trust fund for his sister Nikita Romanova, I did not count it against him."

That was good news as due to his past experience, Nikolai was the perfect person for the job he had been thinking about. It was high time his company had an Internal Affairs department. "Confirm with Pep, and if she agrees, let Nikolai on the access list too. What job profile does he have in S.I.?"

"He has been placed in the H.R. department temporarily, working as his sister's researcher."

"Okay, have him move to the security department. Talk to Ben about it if you have to. Tell him to start going after the low-level double agents. His standing orders are to gather as much physical proof as possible from S.I's government agents. No heroics or anything that puts him in danger, just simple proof gathering."

"As you say, Mr. Stark. I would also suggest involving Colonel Rhodes in this at some point. More than a few employees are tasked with informing the army about his relationship with you."

"Do so. Rhodey bear is going to be so angry after hearing that."

**FRIDAY**

Once she had done as Boss had requested, she focused on other essential things that had been left pending. The first among them was to decide on what to do with the disabled module floating kilometers above the city. EDITH had been controlling it for the time being, but she needed something to use and pilot the Armor. While Boss or Nela would be able to interface with it if necessary, it was too powerful not to be used without them. She had one option for it, but it needed the permission and consent of many people. After discussing it with JARVIS and DIANA, she decided to do it straight away. The three people she had to talk to were all sitting in one place when she addressed them.

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Stark, Mr. Potts, there is something I would like to talk to you all about."

"Go ahead, FRI," Nela replied from her resting position in Mr. Potts lap, ignoring the glaring eyes of Boss. If he can flirt with his girlfriend in front of her, she can flirt with her boyfriend in front of him. 

"The hulkbuster armor and its module are currently floating above the city at the edge of the Karman line. EDITH had temporarily taken over the module's control but would be sharing its control with JARVIS and DIANA. The Armor, on the other hand, needs someone assigned to control it. Someone in addition to Mr. Stark and Ms. Stark, who can summon it if necessary and pilot it if the situation demands so."

After a moment of silence, Nela speaks up while poking poked Virgil. "You are talking about this buffoon, aren't you, FRIDAY?"

"Yes, Ms. Stark."

Virgil seemed to think upon it for a few minutes before looking at Boss, who shrugged.

"It wouldn't be difficult to assign you as the primary pilot. The suit is a heavy backup that is needed for the war that is coming and not much else. Anyone that we assigned it to would have to be someone that was highly trusted. All of us here trust you, some more than others. And let's not forget that the time-traveling Skynet was the one who proposed the idea, and if that doesn't tell you where you stand with us, well... Nothing will." 

Nela stood up from the couch and looked at Mr. Stark with a raised eyebrow. 

"Wait, you trust him? Since when?"

Boss seemed to realize the situation that he had verbally wandered into and decided to answer, at least sort of. 

"I said trust, not like. I trust him with the suit, and while I may not like him with you, I…" this bit comes out grudgingly as if he almost cannot believe the words he's saying. "I trust him with you. I know that your health and happiness is more important to him than anything. This does  _ not _ mean I like him. Or like you kissing him."

She thought about letting Boss face Nela after all that he had just admitted to but decided to let it be. They would talk about it sooner or later. 

"Mr. Potts would have to train with the armor to use it."

Boss nodded. 

"Very well. Bring it down. We can work on the basics tonight. I have to test the stealth feature of Nela and my Armor too."

Nela let out a whoop and started dragging Mr. Potts towards the garden. Shaking his head at their antics, Mr. Stark addressed JARVIS and DIANA.

"JARVIS, give DIANA access to the prototype suits and then bring them to the garden. If I remember right, it is easier to use that Armor when you are in a basic Iron Man suit. Also, start designing him something based on his current body type. One of the prototypes will do in a pinch, but if he's actually using that Armor to its fullest, he needs to have his own under Armor designed specifically for his body. DIANA, I want you to run both suits, see how much you can handle running both Nela's Armor and the Hulkbuster for Virgil. You have inter-dimensional siblings here, so don't be afraid to ask them for help if things start to get a little overwhelming for you. Now I know you've been taking lessons from JARVIS to better operate the Armor, but he also knows a hell of a lot about multitasking, so don't be afraid to talk to him and ask for help. Also, FRIDAY has run this Armor more than once. You can talk to her as well."

"Yes, Sir."

"Sure, Mr. Stark."

She sent a message to EDITH to dispatch the hulk buster suit. Once the suit was ejected from the module with its stealth system engaged, she directed it to land in the mansion garden.

Deciding to be cheeky, FRIDAY asked Boss Lady,

"Ms. Potts, Mr. Stark, and Ms. Stark are going to teach Mr. Potts the basics of handling an Iron Man armor. Would you like to take your Armor for a spin with the family? May I invite Colonel Rhodes as well?" 

Taking a moment to think about it and sharing a look with Tony, Pepper decided that tonight was a good night to play tag. A few hours later, playing a silly game with most of her family while having a live feed of Morgan sleeping in the upper left of her HUD, she started to finally put the nightmare of the bombing of the meeting behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all,
> 
> This is just a small chapter to set up the scene of attack on HYDRA that would happen in the next chapter. BTW, I have a new beta, one who actually stuck around after the first email.
> 
> Do comment what you think about this.


	49. Hydra(1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams leave for their missions. FRIDAY learns something unexpected.

With most of the teams leaving for their targets the night of the party, there wasn't much FRIDAY could do against HYDRA for the time being. Sure, JARVIS was on the prowl for any still hidden Hydra assets, but that was it. Any further actions could risk bringing attention to Boss, especially with the rogue agents' operations in a few days. They had decided to let the HYDRA operatives in the States for the time being, instead, focusing on the ones in Europe and their stronghold, Russia. The attacks would be made in a pattern that would seem like the work of an intelligence agency. While the first to be targeted would be one involved in the Stark Tower attack, the leaders would be the next.

The team heading to the HYDRA base in Siberia was lead by Ms. Romanoff, with strict instructions to search the facility upside down. FRIDAY had also dispatched two modified Mark 18 suits along with that team. Boss had done the modification at her request, making the suits as portable hibernation modules. The suits were for two of the four supersoldiers in hibernation there; Erica Green and Jonathan Meyer, both members of SHIELD, were captured during the cold war and brainwashed to act as HYDRA's pawns. Going through the records of HYDRA, FRIDAY had seen both of their files. Unlike the other Supersoldiers, Erica and Jonathan did not lose control and riot; instead, they were prone to attack other HYDRA agents. Their handlers believed that both supersoldier's brainwash was not wholly successful, as evident by their few attempts to contact SHIELD during long-running missions. She had decided to trust these observations and bring both agents to States. While FRIDAY's intentions were not completely noble, she did not want two innocents to die as Erica and Jonathan had never got any assassination missions under HYDRA. FRIDAY hoped that the procedure for Bucky Barnes might also help the other two. Boss had not been ready for it until she had shown him the real reason. Erica had been one of his father's closest friends once, and her loss had made Howard Stark look for Steve Rogers more.

With nothing major to do and Morgan once again spending her day at the Clint farm along with Mordo, FRIDAY had spent the day upgrading and performing maintenance of her sibling's codes and servers. Virgil had also got her attention as he continued learning everything possible about the Hulkbuster armor. The alternate self of Boss Lady had flown along with Nela to an old fabrication factory some distance away from New York, one which was being modified as a completely autonomous and off the grid location to manufacture Iron man suits. With the required output volume low, the factory remained unnoticed. Right now, FRIDAY could see that Virgil was trying out the Unibeam. With five reactors powering it, the Unibeam of the Hulkbuster was much more potent than any other suits. Virgil, it seemed, had forgotten about her warnings, as showing the only drawback of the weapon, the entire suit flew backward, crashing against a wall, not that it put even a dent in the strengthened material. Leaving DIANA to keep an eye on them, she focused on the ongoing treatment of Bucky Barnes. The Winter Soldier was still unconscious, having kept so by special sedatives. The three doctors had decided to start with full-body scans before going any further. An X-ray machine modified to act as a full-body scanner by Boss was moving over Barnes. Boss had modified it with her help after studying Dr. Cho's most advanced Cradle. 

FRIDAY was also keeping an eye on the rest of the group during these events. The most interesting sight for her right now was Boss's floor had made Penny a small lab of her own. Laura Howlett, who had spent her every bit of free time cooped up in her room, was trying to converse with Penny. The young Parker was using JARVIS to translate their words. It seemed that Laura wanted to know more about the school project Penny was working on, a............., one which was personally supervised by Boss and Nela. FRIDAY wasn't sure that the project would leave the mansion, especially with the additions done by Boss and Nela, as Ms. Potts had already objected to it, and May Parker would follow soon. Both Laura and Penny were under the watchful eyes of Logan and Ben, discussing the Alien Invasion. Leaving them be, she took an update on all the people on her watch list.

Princess Shuri seemed to have difficult days for the past few weeks. Her Lab time had been cut in half, and she was forced to attend a multitude of protocol lessons. It was her parent's lessons that she hated the most, though. She was forced to stop using the words like Colonizer for anyone outside Wakanda and made to learn many things she wasn't interested in. Her problems, though, were very minute compared to her Brother's. T'Challa had been assigned a minor role in the court, for now, one which restricted him to managing the internal affairs of Wakanda. Despite his removal from the line of succession, his views about outsiders, especially Tony Stark, was still the same. One which his father and other leaders had recognized as dangerous and taken steps to mitigate it. The King knew that if his Son didn't change, his daughter might have to make some difficult decisions one day.

Despite her advancements, FRIDAY couldn't help but marvel at Wakanda's internal engineering designs. It was true that they were mostly based on something stolen from outside the country; the modifications they had done using Vibranium were nothing to scoff at. The designs for the hovercrafts had already been copied to her own systems, and alterations were being made to it for some of her projects.

Dr. Cho was nearly done with the prototype of Regeneration Cradle. FRIDAY had already scheduled a meeting between Dr. Cho and S.I., with Boss and Boss Lady's permission. The maximoff twins, on the other hand, had disappeared off the grid. They were not in the HYDRA stronghold at Sokovia, although their names had been spoken once or twice. FRIDAY believed that the experiments that gave them powers had kicked off. She was still not decided about what to do with the twins. While Peter Maximoff was someone she was interested in, Wanda was a difficult point. The easiest solution was to put a bullet in the girl's head as soon as possible, but FRIDAY was not unaware of the potential the older twin held.

Harley Keener was still going on with his life, but not for long. Boss had decided to leave on a group vacation once the matter with HYDRA was sorted. During the vacation, Boss and Boss lady would be meeting the candidates shortlisted for an internship under Tony Stark. The announcement was scheduled to go out the next day. FRIDAY would make sure that Harley Keener applied to it as he would be the one who would be selected. Any application except him that Boss found worthy would be sent to the H.R. department with Boss's recommendations. 

** NATASHA ROMANOFF **

It had taken them a day and a half on flying to reach the HYDRA base in Siberia. There only rest had been a half an hour refueling stop on a small S.I. facility in Belarus. Since the twinjet was designed with Stealth as the main factor, Human comfort was relatively low in it for six people. Their destination wasn't any better, a partially hidden crater 1 mile from the base, which looked abandoned. After a quick recon, they decided to leave for the base immediately. Small drones controlled by FRIDAY were scouting ahead of their snow bikes, with two Iron man suits flying high above. She had reservations about FRIDAY's instructions but kept them to herself. Half an hour later, FRIDAY's prediction had come partially true. While the base was abandoned in most parts, there was a team of HYDRA agents in the area where the supersoldiers were stored. From the cleaned up room with a chair and an empty pod, it was clear that these guys had been the ones to reactivate and deploy the Winter Soldier. All of them died quickly; their bodies disposed in a corner. As three of her team ensured the two HYDRA supersoldiers were dead, she led the other two in taking out the ones FRIDAY wanted. The A.I. presence on the mission was something she was really thankful for as it helped them to detach the pods from the base's power source and connect them to the suit. It was simultaneously impressive and terrifying to watch as the suits disassembled and reassembled. The end result was something like a weird metal flying organism. Once the setup had left the facility through a blown-up wall, they started placing explosives at predetermined points.

Three hours later, they stood by the twinjet and watched as, after simultaneous small rumbles, the facility fell down on itself, disintegrating entirely in a much larger single explosion. With the two pods taking up most of the space inside the plane, their return journey was much more harrowing. By the time they landed at their new base, all she could think about was finding a bed. When she woke up next, the pods had already departed for the mansion. With Clint's team scheduled to come back in the next 12 hours, she decided to wait for him. The reports of the other teams started coming in soon. She had not recognized it first, but the pattern FRIDAY had planned the attacks around was clear now. While a considerable number of attacks were made to look like accidents, the ones on the Country heads were not. FRIDAY was cutting off all the heads of HYDRA at the same time. From the constantly updating list in front of her, she could see that the next command line was also targeted. There was no mention of the fact about the families of those agents, but she didn't bother questioning.

When Clint's team arrived, she had expected him to be acting normally, but he was anything such. The entire team looked shaken, and the reason was evident after a few seconds. Three-body bags were brought out of the plane, one of them uncovered. The state of that tortured body was enough to make her feel nauseous. As he neared her, only one word left his mouth.

"Wakandans"

There was no need to say anything more. Clint, it seemed, had not informed FRIDAY about it. When the A.I. learned from her, a silence spread in the comm channel. FRIDAY's next reply was very robotic in nature.

"Thank you for that information, Ms. Romanoff."

** TONY STARK **

He was going through a design for a large area weapon when the entire Holographic structure powered down. Before he could say anything, other things started powering down. The only thing that remained were the lights, his computers, and the Ironman suits in less than a second. His voice was frantic as he addressed his oldest friend.

"J, what happened?"

JARVIS's voice seemed to be strained in the reply.

"I apologize, Sir. FRIDAY has tasked me and KAREN with a new task. She has prioritized it relatively high and has paused every nonvital process."

The feeling of being powerless and the blistering anger once again swept inside him before he controlled it. FRIDAY had her faults, but she would never do such a thing without reason.

"What happened, J?"

It was the FRIDAY who replied instead of JARVIS.

"Mr. Barton's team have arrived back at the Headquarters from the mission, Mr. Stark. They brought three dead bodies along with them."

Since the night of the party, he had first heard FRIDAY, never before he had heard such a cold voice from the A.I.

"Were you able to identify them?"

There was no reply from FRIDAY, but photos popped on the computer screen along with live recording from the Headquarters. By the time his brain processed everything, his hands had started shaking.

"Find everything about them, FRIDAY, and compile it. Look in each and everyone you can. I want to know everything."

"Yes, Mr. Stark."

Calling a suit, he blasted off the balcony, wanting to divert his mind a little. By the time he returned, his lab had gained more occupants than before, all of them suited up. While Clint and Natasha were a bit tired, they didn't show it much. Nela was already in her suit, with Virgil standing next to her, fully armed. Rhodey was in there too, but this time in a nanotech suit. As soon as he exited out of Mark 47, FRIDAY opened up.

"I found four more locations, Mr. Stark. Three in Europe and one in States. The agents volunteered to leave again after a few hours rest for the locations in Europe."

"And we are going after the one here. Very Well, give me one of the suits."

As the nanotech suit started covering him, he looked towards Mordo.

"Are you coming with us?"

"Only to take you guys there. I won't take part in any other event."

"hm, Okay. FRIDAY tell Ben and May about this, and keep the infirmary ready."

"Mr. Stark.."

"We might need a doctor, FRIDAY, someone more knowledgeable in healing than Bruce."

"As you say, Mr. Stark."

"You also need to look into a doctor for all of us. Someone who can be trusted with all the knowledge."

JARVIS replied instead of FRIDAY.

"I have some candidates for that, Sir."

He looked at the camera, confused.

"Why were you looking into Doctors, J?"

"With your frequent injuries and the poisoning, I thought it would be prudent to find someone if you ever needed one."

Even though the words were said in a simple tone, the sarcasm was unmistakable. He flexed a little inside the suit as FRIDAY handed over the control to JARVIS. It was something they had practiced for already, and the results showed. JARVIS controlled the nanites just as he wanted.

"Let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all. Sorry for the long delay. My laptop finally gave up on me, and it's not as easy to type on a tablet or phone. Anyway, the updates are here.
> 
> Do comment what you think about it.


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